Dutch traffic among the safest in Europe

BRUSSEL – Road traffic in the Netherlands rates among the safest in Europe. Only in Malta, Sweden and England are the road fatality rates lower than the 45 per one million Dutch. The European average ranks at a much higher 79 per million, although in 2008 the total number of fatalities dropped by over 8 percent to 39,000. Most dangerous is traffic in Lithuania, where the fatality rate stands at 150 per million. The European council for road safety ETSC reasons that further improvements are possible. Its 2010 objectives, to cut in half the road death rate of 2000, likely may only be met by a few countries. The Netherlands may not meet that target since its rate has only dropped by 31 percent so far. However, in Bulgaria and Rumania the fatality rates have been rising since 2001. The ETSC aims for a further fatality drop of 40 percent by 2020 and wants the countries to set special targets, such as reducing fatalities among children and the number of seriously injured people.