The memorandum was signed by Marius Skuodis, the Minister of Transport and Communications of Lithuania, and Andreas Carlson, the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing of Sweden.
“Lithuania appreciates Sweden’s exceptional achievements in ensuring traffic safety and efforts to protect every road user. Sweden has achieved the best results in the field of traffic safety in the European Union, so we are monitoring its achievements in improving road infrastructure and changing the behaviour of road users. Sweden is an excellent example and an important partner in achieving the goals of “Vision 0” – where there are no victims of road accidents”, said Mr. Skuodis, Minister of Transport and Communications.
“We are pleased to continue our collaboration with Lithuania on this important topic. Through the renewed MoU, we hope that the Swedish experience can continue to be useful in saving lives”, said Andreas Carlson, Minister of Infrastructure and Housing of Sweden.
By signing the memorandum, Lithuania and Sweden agreed to further develop the cooperation between the countries in the field of traffic safety, which began in 2018. The main areas of cooperation envisaged in this memorandum are transport policy, traffic safety and “Vision 0” strategy. Particular attention will be paid to the creation of a new traffic accident database in Lithuania, which will aim to collect accurate and detailed data on traffic accidents and use them in selecting measures to improve traffic safety.
The actions of the parties in accordance with this memorandum will be coordinated and planned by the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Swedish Ministry of Infrastructure and Housing.
Evaluating the number of road deaths per 1 million inhabitants per year, Sweden, with its last year’s indicator of 22, is the safest country in the European Union, while this number reached 56 in Lithuania.
Taking into account Sweden’s achievements, Lithuania is particularly interested in this country’s experience in the field of urban traffic safety systems and the planning of the “Vision 0” strategy, as well as in development of the areas of self-driving car driving and electric cars, and the implementation of anti-alcohol engine locks.
It is expected that the signed memorandum will expand the possibilities of cooperation between Lithuanian and Swedish experts and will contribute to the improvement of traffic safety.
Next week, an inter-institutional memorandum will be signed in Vilnius regarding the implementation of the action plan for the state traffic safety programme “Vision - Zero”, which will aim to significantly reduce the number of fatalities on the country’s roads by 2030 through the joint efforts of the country’s institutions.
