The month of March this year saw a significant increase in the number of accidents compared to March last year. This jump of more than 83 percent is related to the fact that more than half of March last year was a quarantine period limiting the movement of vehicles due to the pandemic. The official data of the Statistics Institute for Road Accidents show that there is also an increase in fatalities where at least 58 people lost their lives on the road in the January-March period.
"In the month of March 2021, there were 119 road accidents from 65 accidents that occurred in the month of March 2020, increasing by 83,1%, compared to the same period a year ago. Due to the lockdown in 2020, the drop in accidents was huge. So the comparison with this abnormal year due to the pandemic has brought a high growth during this month. In the first quarter of 2021, there were 323 road accidents out of 264 accidents that occurred in the first quarter of 2020, increasing by 22,3%, compared to the same period a year ago.
In the month of March 2021, the number of accident victims (killed and injured) is 150 people from 94 that was a year ago, increasing by 59,6%. The number of accident victims in the first quarter of 2021 is 418 people out of 360 people, increasing by 16,1%, compared to the same period of 2020.
In the month of March 2021, the number of deaths from road accidents is 18 people from 10 people who died in March 2020. In the first quarter of 2021, the number of deaths from road accidents is 58 people from 39 people who died in the same period of a year ago" says the announcement of INSTAT.
But what are the reasons for the accidents? INSTAT reports that in the month of March 2021, road accidents, in 79,8% of cases, occurred as a result of the driver's behavior.
"The highest number of accidents in this period was committed by the 25-34 age group, accounting for 26,1% of the total number of accidents. Accidents in this age group have increased by 34,8%, compared to the same period of the previous year.
In the first quarter of 2021, road accidents, in 19,8% of cases, occurred as a result of pedestrian behavior. During this period, the number of accidents according to pedestrian behavior has increased by 12,3%, compared to the previous year.
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