According to data published by the European Commission, road safety in Malta is in a dire state as the rate of road traffic fatalities increased dramatically in 2022.
The fatality rate in Malta increased by 189% from 2021 to 2022, which was almost 10 times higher than any other EU country.
Only the Netherlands recorded an increase higher than 20%. In 2022, Malta had a road fatality rate of 50 per million inhabitants, making it the deadliest year on record with 26 road fatalities.
This was the 11th highest fatality rate in Europe, higher than the EU average of 46 but lower than Romania’s 86 deaths per million inhabitants.
In 2019, Malta’s fatality rate was 32 road deaths per million inhabitants.
Throughout the year, road fatalities across the EU increased by 3% to almost 20,000 deaths, which is 10% lower than the number recorded in 2019.
Of the almost 9,000 victims, car occupants made up the majority, and a further 3,200 were pedestrians hit by cars, vans, trucks or buses.
The EU aims to reduce road fatalities by 50% by 2030 and ultimately reach zero road deaths by 2050. A recent study showed that 80% of people are concerned about the frequency of serious traffic accidents.
Since 2018, there have been 83 road deaths in Malta, with 29 of them involving pedestrians, 14 of whom were over 65. In an attempt to fight road deaths, the government recently announced tougher penalties for drivers caught breaking traffic regulations.
Read full report here.
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