2018-2021 STATISTICS OF INCLUSIVE TRAFFIC INCIDENTS IN LITHUANIA

Lithuania has made great progress in improving road safety. Based on the data of registered traffic accidents in 2021. The lowest number of road deaths ever recorded in Lithuania was 148. This is a 51% lower number than in 2011, when almost 300 road users were killed. Targeted activities helped to halve the number of deaths on Lithuanian roads: the infrastructure for vulnerable road users is improved, engineering traffic safety measures are installed on the roads, and various educational activities are carried out.

Trends in traffic accidents, injured and killed road users in Lithuania

In order to continue to reduce the number of road deaths every year, traffic accidents in which people were killed or injured are analyzed. When studying them, areas that require greater attention and purposeful decision-making are observed, and where the purposeful operation of the selected decisions is visible. In order to understand the prevailing trends in traffic accidents, the traffic safety specialists of the Public Transport Competence Agency (TKA) examine the 4-year traffic incidents of the period according to the type of traffic participants, age, sobriety, types and locations of traffic incidents, etc.

Traffic incidents of concern to specialists

One of the biggest concerns for traffic safety specialists and doctors is the rapidly increasing number of injured scooter riders. 2019-2021 during the period, their number increased even 5 times. As this vehicle becomes more and more popular and the infrastructure for them expands, the number of scooter users and traffic accidents related to them increases. Unfortunately, not all of these road users follow the rules of the road and do not take all safety measures, e.g. use of personal protection. It was found that 40% of all injured scooter riders are between the ages of 7 and 18. young people, and most traffic accidents with these vehicles are recorded on Wednesdays.

Exploring 2018-2021 TKA employees also paid attention to the safety of passengers after the number of traffic incidents. It was established that passengers make up 28% of all injured road users. Wearing seat belts, which unfortunately many passengers sitting in the back of the car tend not to wear, has a major impact on their injuries. However, statistics show that the proportion of passengers who were not wearing seat belts was 5.5 times higher than those who were wearing seat belts. It is worth noting that the affected passengers are not only people traveling by car, but also by public transport. Injuries on buses and trolleybuses account for 15% of all injured passengers, most of whom are over 65. aged people. Therefore, traffic safety specialists remind you to sit down when there is a free seat when traveling on public transport.

TKA traffic safety specialists note that one of the biggest risks of being killed on the roads is hitting a tree after driving off the road. 100 detours from the road in 2021. there were 19.1 dead and 119.1 wounded. Trees growing on the roadsides of country roads often fall within an obstacle-free zone that is free of trees, poles, and unfenced. As a result, if the vehicle goes off the road, there is a high probability of hitting a tree, and the consequences of the traffic accident are dire. Traffic safety specialists point out that the persons responsible for road maintenance must timely prune and remove trees that pose a risk to traffic safety.

After evaluating the 2021 accident data and comparing them with 2020, the following most significant changes were identified:

Traffic accidents increase in the warm season

As trips to homesteads through wooded areas become more frequent in the warm season, encounters with animals also increase. In 4 years 120 collisions with an animal were recorded, and 63% of these traffic accidents, during which 91 road users were injured, occurred between May and September. To reduce these traffic incidents, animal fences are installed, roadsides are mowed, so that approaching animals can be seen in time. Drivers are urged to be especially careful in wooded areas and to choose a safe speed.

Interactive map of traffic incidents

This year, as last year, TKA prepared an interactive 2017-2021. a map of traffic incidents, where traffic incidents are presented according to the coordinates of the traffic incident. The user can choose which year and which type of traffic accident data he wants to display on the map, traffic accidents with fatal consequences are represented in a different color, the attribute table provides more detailed information for each creditable traffic accident. This allows everyone to get to know their daily route in more detail, to pay more attention to traffic, to identify where the risks of a traffic accident are increased. It is also possible to see the year 2021 using the map. traffic incidents in the TEN-T road network, where not only local but also transit traffic is intensive. 

Interactive 2017-2021 Link to the traffic accident map:
https://ktti.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/minimalist/index.html?appid=d0994fc74c4346158c0916dc3b37314d