In 2016 there were 175,791 road accidents involving personal injury in Italy, resulting in 3,283 deaths and 249,175 injuries. Among the fatalities, there was a net increase for cyclists (275, +9.6%) and moped riders (116, +10.5%), while there was a decrease for motorcyclists (657, -15.0%) and pedestrians (570, -5.3%).

This is the overall picture of road accidents in our country that emerged from the latest ISTAT report for 2016.

A remarkable year in which the number of deaths fell compared to 2015 (-4.2%), while accidents and injuries, especially serious ones, increased for the first time since 2001.

The decrease in the number of fatalities in Italy – ISTAT points out – is mainly due to the drop recorded on motorways (including ring roads and motorway junctions) and non-urban roads (274 and 1,546 deaths; -10.2 and -4.6% on the previous year). There was a smaller drop in the number of deaths on urban roads (1,463 deaths; -2.6%); the drop in the number of deaths in large towns was more substantial: 6.5%.

Some of the incorrect behaviours that cause accidents are the same ones that Safety21 seeks to prevent with its monitoring and training projects: driver distraction, failure to respect right of way and excessive speed are the most frequent causes, while speeding, failure to use safety devices and the use of mobile phones while driving are the most frequently penalised traffic offences.