2020 in Estonian road traffic: Consequences of accidents were graver

TALLINN - During 2020, 1,365 accidents in which injury was sustained by humans took place on Estonian roads, and 60 people were killed and 1,574 people injured in such accidents, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications announced.

Compared with 2019, the number of accidents involving human injury and the number of people injured in the accidents declined, but the number of deaths increased by seven.

"Although last winter was rather mild and road conditions were good as a result, this did not prevent very serious road accidents from happening," Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Taavi Aas said after a briefing of the government's road traffic committee on  accident statistics for 2020 by the Transport Administration on Wednesday. 

The number of single-vehicle accidents registered during the year was 528, which is 157 more than the number of such accidents in 2019. As a result of such accidents, 23 people were killed and 584 injured. The number of accidents involving several vehicles meanwhile declined by 101 to 464 and in such accidents 24 people were killed and 604 injured.

Accidents with pedestrians numbered 283, which is 27 fewer than in 2019. In such accidents 13 people were killed and 288 sustained injury.

The number of other traffic accidents, which include people falling in public transport, accidents involving animals and unspecified accidents, dropped 45 percent year on year to 90 cases from  168 cases in 2019. In such accidents 98 people were injured. 

The total number of road accidents registered during the year, 1,365, was smaller by 50 than in 2019. The number of people injured, 1,574, was smaller by 166. The death toll of 60 however represents an increase by seven casualties over 2019. 

In 132 cases, accidents involved a drunk driver, and in accidents in which one of the parties was a drunk driver 12 people were killed and 153 injured. The number of death victims in such accidents made up 12.3 percent of the total number of people killed in road traffic during the year. 

Accidents involving a cyclist numbered 340 during the year, and four cyclists were killed in the  accidents. Fifty-five percent of the accidents with cyclists were collisions with another vehicle and 37 percent were accidents involving only the bicycle.