During 2012, on the basis of a preliminary estimate, 184,500 road accidents resulting in death or injury were counted. The number of deaths, within thirty days, is 3,650, while the injured persons are 260,500.
Compared to 2011, a decrease of road accidents resulting in death or injury (-10.3%) and the number of deaths (-5.4%) has been registered, as well as a decrease of injuries (-10.8%).
The mortality index, calculated as the percentage ratio between the number of deaths and the number of accidents resulting in death or injury, reaches, in 2012, the value 2, which is slightly higher than the value registered in 2011 (1,85).
The percentage change of the number of deaths, in respect to 2001, is -48.6% for 2012, while it was -46.4% in 2011.
The mortality rate due to road accidents in Italy, calculated on the basis of the preliminary estimate for 2012, is equal to 61 deaths per 1,000,000 inhabitants. This value accounted for a decrease of more than 50% if compared with the year 2001, when the level of the rate was equal to 125.
The most significant contribution to the decrease of the number of victims in road accidents is due, in 2012, to the decline of mortality on urban roads (-8%), while the decrease is lower on the extra urban roads (-4%). The value is stable on the highways, where the reduction was consistent in the previous years.
The 2011-2020 European action program for road safety has the target of halving the number of deaths on European roads by 2020 and a significant reduction in serious injuries. For this purpose, to establish a target, it is necessary that EU countries apply an harmonized definition of severity of injuries set at the European level.
With reference to the international context, the preliminary estimates of mortality rates, calculated as the ratio between the number of deaths in road accidents and the resident population (rates per 1,000,000 inhabitants), recorded in 2012 among EU27 countries, vary within a range from 26 to 100, respectively for Lithuania and Malta. The value for Italy is equal to 61, compared with a European average of 55 deaths per million inhabitants.
The percentage change in Europe (EU27) of the number of deaths in road accidents between 2011 and 2012, is about -9%. According to the European Commission, the good result for 2012, compared with the lower reduction recorded in 2011, witnesses the renewed effort by Member States to achieve the goal of halving road accidents fatalities between 2011 and 2020. To reach this goal, an average annual reduction of about 7% is needed.