The decline in mortality during lockdown period was not thanks to improvement of road safety
Since the outbreak the number of road accidents followed by death or injury decreased by 29.5% in Italy between January-September 2020. In the first nine months of 2020 the number of deaths dropped by 43.1% compared to 2010 and by 66.4% compared with the same period in 2001. The decrease in fatalities affects all road areas: in the first nine months of the year it is estimated at approximately 50% on motorways, between 40 and 44% on urban and extra-urban roads.’
‘In 24 European countries the European Transport Safety Council recorded an average decrease in mortality of 36% in April 2020. From 2010-2019 this was average 24% in 28 European countries.
Yes, this does bring us closer to the 2010-2020 European objectives and target of -50%. However, the drastic decline in mortality during the lockdown of the population and traffic block due to the outbreak of COVID-19, was due to a forced decrease in accidents and victims, and not to virtuous behaviours or the improvement of road safety. There is still a lot of work