Record low numbers killed in traffic accidents in the first quarter of this year

RunningRunning

21 people died in traffic accidents during the first three months of 2017. That is ten less than last year, according to a preliminary Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA) report.

It is also the lowest recorded number of fatal accidents for the first quarter of the year since the NPRA began keeping statistical records in 2012.

‘You must go back to 1940 to 1950 last century to find such low numbers’, said press officer, Kjell Bjørn Vinje, of Vegvesenet (The Public Road Administration).

Exactly why the numbers are so down has not been completely explained in the NPRA’s overview.

‘We have no immediate explanation for the marked decline. The trend over time is crystal clear, it is becoming safer on Norwegian roads’, said Guro Ranes of the NPRA.

15 of those who died were men, and six were women. Road accidents dominate this year’s fatalities, but there were also downhill skiing accidents, and pedestrian accidents.

So far in March, eight people were killed in traffic accidents, one less than in the same month last year.

Rogaland had the highest road accident fatalities, with five deaths. In seven counties no-one has been killed on the roads so far in 2017.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today