Things are going in the right direction in Danish traffic. On the other hand, 2024 was not a year without fatal accidents in traffic, the latest figures show.
In 2024, 145 people lost their lives in traffic accidents. This is the second lowest number of recorded deaths ever, surpassed only by 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in fewer short-distance trips.
Preliminary figures from the Danish Road Directorate show that 2024 is set to be a year with historically low numbers of road traffic injuries. The final figures will not be available until June 2025, but the preliminary data indicates a significant improvement compared to previous years.
This is stated by the Danish Road Directorate in a press release .
Overall, just under 2,400 people were injured in traffic in 2024. This is the lowest number of registered injuries since the Danish Road Directorate began keeping statistics in 1985.
These figures are remarkable when you consider that the traffic volume in 2024 approached the level from the record year 2023. The Danish Road Directorate's traffic index shows an increase of 0.1 percent in the number of short kilometers in the first nine months of the year compared to 2023.
– 2024 looks set to be one of the years with the fewest traffic fatalities and injuries, surpassed only by 2021, which was a corona year with significantly fewer short kilometers than normal.
– To support the positive development, we will continue to focus on improving road safety in Denmark through a number of initiatives, including investments in road safety, cycle paths, behavioural and information campaigns, says Minister of Transport Thomas Danielsen (V)
The Danish Road Safety Council views the development positively. However, Managing Director Jakob Boving Arendt emphasizes that too many accidents still occur:
– So my wish for 2025 is that we as a society remain ambitious and continue to fight for fewer people to be killed or injured in traffic.
The trend of fewer traffic injuries applies to all forms of transport, regardless of whether you travel by car, bicycle or on foot.
There has been a significant improvement, especially on the roads. The number of injuries in passenger cars, vans and trucks decreased by 21 percent compared to the average for the period 2019-2023.
Department Manager Marianne Foldberg Steffensen from the Danish Road Directorate says:
– Although it may not always be the experience you have when you sit on your bike or when you read newspapers, it has never been safer to travel in traffic.
– This is partly because the roads we drive on and the cars we drive in are constantly improving. And even though electric bicycles are sometimes criticized and the number of electric bicycles in traffic is increasing, all other things being equal, road safety for bicycles has also become better than before.”
Traditionally, young road users in the age group of 18 to 24 years are overrepresented in accident statistics. However, in 2023 there was an unusually low number of road fatalities in this age group. The trend looks set to continue in 2024, with the number of young people injured in the first nine months being 27 percent lower than the average for the previous five years.
