Road accidents on the rise in 2021 compared to 2020. In particular, as emerges from the annual report of the Traffic Police, against an increase in the overall accident rate of 26.7% (64,162 accidents against 50,625 in 2020), fatal accidents (1,238 ) and victims (1,313) increased by 15.5% and 14.1% respectively, while road accidents with injuries (26,022) and people injured (37,268) increased by 26.9% and 25.7 per one hundred.
The trend is in line with the data published by Istat in the “preliminary estimate” referring to the first half of 2021 which, compared to the same period of 2020, records an increase in the number of road accidents with personal injuries (65,116, equal to + 31.3%), of the injured (85,647, + 28.1%) and of the victims within the thirtieth day (1,239, + 22.3%).
Comparison on 2020 distorted by the pandemic
The comparison with 2020, however, is not really representative of the trend in road accidents, in light of the collapse in the values of the accident phenomenon due to the bans imposed on mobility in relation to the containment of the pandemic by Covid-19. In fact, compared to the data of 2019, the trend of the accident phenomenon detected by the Traffic Police and the Carabinieri is in any case decreasing: the overall accident rate decreases by 11.6%, fatal accidents and victims decrease by 15, 4% and 17.9% as well as accidents with injuries and injured persons of 16.7% and 22%.
Over 1 million and 600 thousand infringements of the Highway Code
During the past year (1 January-22 December), the 440,379 Polstrada patrols employed in road surveillance carried out 1,457,383 people checks, disputing 1,662,540 infringements of the Highway Code. The violations ascertained for speeding were 598,530. Withdrawn, 23,431 driving licenses and 33,590 registration papers were also withdrawn.
The driving license points deducted were 2,708,140. Drivers controlled with breathalyzers and precursors were 327,443, of which 9,371 were sanctioned for driving under the influence of alcohol while those reported for driving under the influence of drugs were 798. The vehicles seized for confiscation 74. 150 sections controlled by the Traffic Police with the new “Tutors”, which came into operation in December 2021, for a total of approximately 1,442 km of controlled motorway lanes.