Lithuania, Sweden sign memorandum on traffic safety cooperation

VILNIUS – Lithuania and Sweden have signed a bilateral memorandum on cooperation in the field of transport policy.

The memorandum was signed by Lithuanian Transport and Communication Minister Marius Skuodis and Sweden's Minister of Infrastructure and Housing Andreas Carlson, the Lithuanian ministry said.

"Lithuania will continue to consult and gain experience in the field of traffic safety from Sweden, the leader in traffic safety in Europe: a bilateral memorandum has been signed, which extends cooperation in the field of transport policy and aims to improve traffic safety to prevent any fatalities on Lithuanian roads in the future," the ministry said.

Skuodis says Sweden is a good example on implementing the so-called Vision Zero, aimed at significantly reducing the number of fatalities on the country’s roads.

"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 behavior of road users," Skuodis said.

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 the Vision Zero 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 statement reads.

In terms of 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.

Next week, an inter-institutional memorandum will be signed in Vilnius on the implementation of the action plan for the state traffic safety program 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.