A drone view of crosswalk and bike path, in Warsaw, Poland on May 13, 2021. Photo Credit: Mateusz Wlodarczyk/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Society Poland31. January 2025

Milestone: Road Deaths Reaches Record Low Here

Poland’s capital has seen the lowest rate of road deaths since the city began collecting statistics in the 1980s.

The latest reports coming out of Warsaw reveal that road deaths in the city have dropped by 55 percent in the last 10 years alone.

Warsaw was once considered one of the deadliest European cities for both drivers and pedestrians. In 1991, the city saw 314 road-related deaths. 2023 saw only 29, now making it one of the safer cities in the European Union for road-related accidents. Efforts are underway for continued improvements to safety, including upgraded crosswalks, priority to pedestrians, better lighting, and raised medians. Increased fines for lawbreakers have also been established, with tickets upwards of 5,000 zloty (about $1,250 USD) for unruly drivers – a hefty fee considering the country’s median monthly wage is only 6,500 zloty. The city’s efforts to create safer communities should be applauded and replicated around the nation, as Poland itself is considerably lagging behind its capital in terms of safety. “Collisions are unavoidable as long as people drive. But not a single death, even in traffic collisions, is acceptable for moral reasons,” says Tomasz Tosza, deputy director of Warsaw’s Department of Road Management.

Source:
Bloomberg

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