“Last year’s road safety results contributed to long-term progress – the number of road fatalities decreased by more than half within a decade since 296 fatalities in 2011. We seek progress by closely cooperating with the Police, Ministry of the Interior and institutions under our control – Lithuanian Transport Safety Administration, Lithuanian Road Administration, Transport Competence Agency. We also place a lot of focus on road safety while planning state investments in road infrastructure,” says Minister of Transport and Communications Marius Skuodis.
Statistics show that in 2021, 146 persons were killed in road accidents in Lithuania. However, in 2020, the number of fatalities on roads was 176, while in 2011 – 296. Last year, there were 53 road fatalities per 1 million inhabitants. According to this indicator, Lithuania is gradually approaching the European Union average, which was 42 fatalities per 1 million inhabitants in 2020.
Last year saw a significant improvement in the safety of the most vulnerable road users – pedestrians and cyclists. In comparison with 2020, the number of pedestrian fatalities last year decreased almost by half, from 52 to 27 (48 %), and cyclist fatalities decreased from 15 to 11 (27 %). Statistics show that cyclists wearing vests or using lights were much safer – the number of fatalities while using such safety measures was only 2.
According to data by regions, the major progress is seen in Marijampolė, Panevėžys and Klaipėda districts – the number of road fatalities here decreased by 40 %, 36 % and 35 % respectively. The situation became worse or remains the same in only 3 districts out of 10 – Telšiai, Tauragė and Utena.
The Minister notes that such statistics in improving road safety also pose a great challenge, as maintaining such positive tendencies in the future requires continuous joint effort, responsible conduct, attentiveness and mutual respect on roads from all institutions and road users.
In order to improve road safety, in 2020, the Government approved the State Road Safety Programme “Vision 0” prepared by the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The goal is to have zero road fatalities by 2050 in Lithuania. By 2030, it is aimed to halve the number of road fatalities compared to 2019.
A lot of focus on road safety is also placed in the Lithuanian National Road Development Strategy until 2035, which is in preparation for approval. It is planned to expand the network of pedestrian and bicycle paths – within 2022–2035, to build around 600 km of new paths, increasing the length of bicycle paths in residential areas by nearly 50 %, and to reconstruct 350 km of paths in poor condition. It is expected to continue implementing engineering road safety measures on roads, and to reconstruct dangerous intersections and pedestrian crossings. It is aimed to reduce the number of dangerous pedestrian crossings on state roads to a zero before 2024, i.e., to reconstruct approx. 1,720 of such crossings. In 2022–2035, it is planned to rebuild about 140 one-level intersections.
