Good news regarding road safety. 2023 saw a decline in road accidents, especially fatal ones. According to what Ansa reports, in the past year there were in fact 44,778 accidents detected by the traffic police compared to 45,387 in 2022. The fatal ones were 449 (in 2022 there were 521) and the number of victims (495) also decreased compared to the previous year with a reduction of 17.1%.
Trend reversal also for accidents with injuries which in the period in question were 15,760 compared to 16,402 in the same period of 2022 (-3.9%) with 24,701 injured (2.7% less compared to 2022 in which there were 25,374 were injured).
In the past year the traffic police strengthened the control of roads and motorways by employing 425,261 patrols (2% more than in 2022) which checked 1,934,385 people (in the previous year there were 1,782,491) and challenged 1,791 .320 infractions (26% higher than 2022). There were 739,704 confirmed speeding violations (in 2022 there were 421,973). 34,315 driving licenses and 43,187 registration cards were withdrawn.
Finally, 2,992,834 license points were deducted (in the previous year, 30,307 licenses were withdrawn; 39,667 registration cards were withdrawn and 2,089,469 license points were deducted). There were 640,044 drivers checked with breathalyzers and precursors, of which 13,594 were sanctioned for driving under the influence of alcohol while those reported for driving under the influence of narcotic substances were 1,300. The vehicles seized for confiscation were 831.
The motorway sections have now become 176 – equal to 1,670 km – on which the traffic police monitor the average speed through the “Tutor” which, from 1 January to 27 December, detected 372,532 infringements for exceeding the speed limits.