The National Road Safety Authority (ANSR) released the 24-hour Accident Report and 2020 Road Inspection.
This report highlights the changes in mobility, as a result of the restrictive and confinement measures adopted by the Government, which came to affect road accidents in Portugal.
But this conditioning, in global terms, resulted in an improvement in the main accident indicators on the Portuguese continent in relation to 2019:
- Fewer 9203 accidents (-25.8%);
- Fewer 84 fatalities (-17.7%);
- 472 fewer serious injuries (-20.5%);
- Less than 12 496 minor injuries (-28.9%).
In 2020 there were 26 501 accidents with victims on the continent, which resulted in 390 fatalities, 1829 serious injuries and 30 706 minor injuries.
And although road fuel consumption has fallen by about 14% – as a result of restrictive mobility measures to halt the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic – the reductions in accidents and their consequences are greater, which, according to the Authority , indicates “an overall improvement in all road accident indicators beyond what is expected in a period of confinement”.
Excluding the pandemic , between January 1 and March 18, 2020 (date of the start of the first period of confinement), there was still a general reduction in the accident rate when compared to the same period of the previous year:
- Less 424 accidents (-6.2%);
- Fewer 22 fatalities (-22.0%);
- Fewer 41 seriously injured (-9.6%);
- Fewer 536 minor injuries (-6.5%).
Oversight
More than 112.8 million vehicles were inspected in 2020 (an increase of 19.4%). This figure results from an increase in the number of radar systems in the SINCRO network (+23.0%) and from a 103.5% increase in the Lisbon Municipal Police's radars.During these actions, more than one million and two hundred thousand infringements were detected – a decrease of 6.5% compared to 2019.
The rate of offenders (total number of offenders/total number of vehicles inspected) was 1.1%, which means a reduction of 21.7% compared to 2019.
As for the type of infractions, the majority were related to speeding (62.9%).
loss ratio
Nature of accident:
- Collision was the most frequent type of accident (51.1% of accidents, 43.6% of serious injuries and 55.8% of minor injuries). The greatest number of fatalities, however, resulted from misuse (45.9%).
- In collisions, 11 fewer fatalities and 153 fewer serious injuries were recorded, as in collisions (38 fewer fatalities and 196 fewer serious injuries).
Type of route:
- Most accidents (and injuries) occurred on streets: 62.6% of accidents.
- The greatest number of fatalities occurred on national roads (34.6%).
Severity Index:
- It increased by 10.9%, from 1.33 to 1.47 fatalities for every one hundred accidents. The highest numbers are registered on motorways (+27.1%), followed by national roads (+20.0%).
- The biggest reduction occurred in the main itineraries (-47.0%). Even so, on this type of road there are still 3.23 fatalities for every one hundred accidents.
Claims at district level:
- Decreased the number of accidents with victims in all districts.
- However, in terms of fatalities, in absolute terms, there was an increase in the districts of Viana do Castelo (+10), Leiria (+5), Lisbon (+4) and Santarém (+2). Beja (-16), Coimbra (-15), Aveiro (-14), Braga and Viseu (-13) had, in turn, the biggest reductions.
User category:
- 69.7% of all fatalities were drivers, 14.6% passengers and 15.6% pedestrians.
- There was a decrease in victims, namely in the number of passengers killed (-33.7%) and pedestrians seriously injured (-37.1%).
Vehicle category:
- Light vehicles were the main actors in the accidents (71.6%).
- Accidents involving mopeds and motorcycles decreased by 17.7%.
- Accidents with bicycles decreased by 2.3%.
I want to see the 24-hour Accident Report and Road Inspection 2020
Consult Fleet Magazine for more articles on the automotive market.