Roads are also safer in Lower Silesia, where the number of accidents fell by more than 8%, nearly 24% fewer people died in them, and the number of injured fell by approximately 7%. These optimistic figures confirm that police actions are effective and lead to a reduction in the number of road incidents and, consequently, their negative consequences.
Czujecie się bezpieczniej na polskich drogach?
Over the past more than 20 years, despite an almost threefold increase in the number of motor vehicles travelling on Polish roads, the number of road accidents fell by 20,946, while the number of people killed in them fell by 3,840. For comparison, in 1994 more than 10 million motor vehicles were registered in Poland. In the same year, there were 53,647 road accidents. As a result, 6,744 people died and 64,573 were injured.
According to police data, in 2015, 2,904 people died and 39,457 were injured in 32,701 accidents nationwide. The number of registered motor vehicles exceeded 26 million. Compared with 2014, there was a nearly 7% decrease in the number of road accidents, an approximately 10% decrease in fatalities and a more than 7% decrease in injuries. In that same year, there were 34,970 road accidents, in which 3,202 people died and 42,545 were injured.
A decrease in the number of road accidents was also recorded in Lower Silesia. In 2015, there were 2,262 accidents, more than 8% fewer than in 2014. In these accidents, 185 people died — nearly 24% fewer than the previous year — and 2,946 people were injured, a decrease of nearly 7%.
The above data clearly indicate that the safety of drivers, passengers and other road users travelling through Poland is steadily improving. It is as if resort towns such as Mikołajki or Łeba had survived over these more than 20 years.
The daily work of police officers, who used an increasing number of devices to monitor, among other things, speed and sobriety, had a direct impact on this significant improvement in road safety. Polish drivers’ awareness and driving culture also improved.
The tightening of criminal penalties imposed on drivers violating the law and the introduction of new measures, including the revocation of driving licences, were undoubtedly also significant.
asp. szt. Paweł Petrykowski/KGP/KWP Wrocław/ii