565 people died on Czech roads last year, which is 63 more than in 2017. After two years, the number of road accident victims has increased again. This results from the official statistics of the police presidency. The percentage increase is greatest for bikers, where the number of casualties has risen by 43 percent. Police statistics also show an increase in severely injured in traffic accidents.
Overall, last year, the traffic police investigated more than 100 thousand traffic accidents with a loss of more than six and a half billion crowns. Tomáš Lerch, head of the traffic police press conference on 2018 accident, said this. Compared to 2017, it is a slight increase.
Year-on-year, the number of seriously injured persons increased by 126 to 2465. 25,215 people were slightly injured, even in this category, the police recorded a slight increase compared to 2017.
"We have seen a significant worsening of the most serious consequences," Lerch said. According to him, the number of accidents and their consequences influenced, in particular, the behavior of road users, the warm weather also affected last year. Warm weather, according to Lerch, allowed the movement of the most vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, bikers, and cyclists. They should all wear reflective vests or clothing with reflective tapes.
The most tragic months of last year were August and September when 64 people died in accidents. The smallest victim claimed February when 21 people were killed on the roads.
Lerch thinks he is alarmed about the number of children killed, of whom 19 died. That's ten more than last year. In 11 cases it was a passenger, with the rest of the pedestrian.
Traffic police statistics also show that last year the number of motorcyclists killed has increased significantly. While 62 bikers and their co-drivers died on the Czech roads in the year 2017, last year it was 88. The most tragic month for motorcyclists was Lerch in August when 15 people died.
According to Lerch, more than half of motorcycle accidents are caused by a biker himself. Out of a total of 3731 motorcycle accidents, the 2134 motorcycle driver caused 2134 bumps. The main causes include, according to Lerch, the lack of control of the machine by the driver or the inadequate speed. In the case of accidents that have caused other drivers, it is especially the fact that the motorcyclist driver overlooks.
Among the 565 dead there were 349 drivers, 113 pedestrians and more than one hundred co-drivers. Most people died in passenger cars - 202 drivers and 98 co-drivers. For trucks, it was 19 drivers and one co-driver. Cyclists on the domestic roads came to life last year 38.
Regarding individual regions, most people died last year on roads in the Central Bohemia Region. On the contrary, at least people lost their lives on roads in the Liberec, Hradec Overlook and Nozzle regions.
Inattention of drivers: the most common cause of accidents
The most common cause of accidents was the inattention of drivers, Lerch said. "An inattentive driver is the biggest phenomenon of the time involved in traffic accidents," he said.
"The number of restrictions and closures that accompany the reconstruction of the motorway network, in particular, has been negatively impacted by the consequences of traffic accidents." According to the traffic police, the number of accidents is also affected by traffic intensity, which increases.
Among the riskiest groups of traffic, police drivers continue to be a group of young and beginner drivers with minimal practice. Drivers with less than five years of experience, according to Lerch, account for about a quarter of traffic accidents.
"The use of self-protection features, whether it be safety belts, helmets and reflective materials on non-motorized road users, also has a significant impact," Lerch explained. Every fifth co-driver who died in a crash was not attached to him.
In order to prevent police accidents and BESIP, they are preparing a number of preventive actions for this year, focusing on both bikers, car drivers and pedestrians. This year, for example, the police plan to deploy modern technology.
"This means both powerful binoculars and, of course, the use of hidden surveillance cameras equipped with a camera system," Lerch said. Police officers also have more buses to use on motorways.
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