More than 3,474 pedestrians were hit between January and October 2022, up 22.9% from the same period in 2021, crashes resulting in a 27.5% increase in fatalities, the security service said this Wednesday road traffic.
In the October 2022 Traffic Accidents and Inspections Report, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (ANSR) reports a 22.9% increase in pedestrian strikes, resulting in a 27.5% increase in related deaths and serious injuries by 9.1%. compared to the same period last year.
A total of 3,474 pedestrian collisions were recorded by authorities in January-October, resulting in 51 deaths, 275 serious injuries, and 3,432 minor injuries (24% more).
ANSR, which is releasing crash data as of October this Wednesday alone, indicates that in the first ten months of 2022, there were 28,456 injured traffic accidents on the mainland and autonomous regions, resulting in 399 deaths, 2,081 serious injuries and 33,369 people. lightly wounded.
“Relative to 2019, the year considered by the European Commission as the base year for the purposes of assessing the development of road traffic accidents during the current decade, a criterion that has also been adopted in Portugal, after deducting 2459 accidents (-8%), there are 41 fewer deaths (-9.3%), 69 fewer major injuries (-3.2%) and 4,028 fewer minor injuries (-10.8%),” the report said, justifying the comparison to 2019 due to 2020 restrictions and 2021 caused by the pandemic.
ANSR also notes that compared to the same period in 2021, which still had traffic interruptions compared to 2019, there has been an increase in all key indicators in the context of the pandemic, namely 3,477 more accidents (+14.6 %), another 66 dead (+20.2%), another 209 seriously injured (+12.1%) and another 4204 lightly injured (+15.1%).
Compared to 2021, 2022 sees an increase in traffic in 2022, with a corresponding increase in the risk of accidents, as evidenced by a 9.8% increase in road fuel consumption compared to October, according to the data. from the General Directorate of Energy and Geology, as well as a 30 percent increase in motorway traffic recorded in the first half of the year.
According to the same report, between January and October 2022, the number of accidents increased in all districts, most notably in Viana do Castelo (+22.2%), Faro (+21.5%) and Vila Real ( +20.9%) and, in terms of the number of deaths, the increase occurred in 14 districts, with the largest quantitative contribution in Coimbra (+13), Leiria and Viseu (+9 each).
The report also highlights that during the same period, motorcycle accidents increased by 14.3% to 8,257, resulting in 110 deaths (a 19.6% increase).
In terms of inspection, ANSR reports that in the first ten months of 2022, 108.1 million vehicles were inspected in person or through automated inspection tools, up 8.5% from the previous year for the same period in 2021.
As a result of the inspection, 983,620 violations were revealed, which is 1.4% more than in the previous year.
The report highlights fines for speeding – 667,379 between January and October (up 14.3%) and for drunk driving – 25,044 (up 37.7%).
Road crime, as measured by total arrests, increased by 25.4% in the first ten months of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, reaching 26,054 drivers, 54.8% of whom were driving under the influence of alcohol, and 33.8% – due to the lack of legal rights to drive.