A new research study has revealed the most dangerous European countries to drive in, with Romania coming in at the top.
The study, conducted by Vignetteswitzerland.com, analyzed the latest data from the European Transport Safety Board to find out which countries had the highest road fatality rates per million inhabitants.
The study found that Romania is the most statistically dangerous country to drive in Europe. The country saw 85.81 fatalities per million inhabitants in 2022, the highest rate among the countries included in the study. However, this represents a 10.26% decrease from 2012, which saw 95.62 fatalities per million inhabitants.
Serbia comes in second on the list, with the southeastern European country recording 82.65 road deaths per million inhabitants. Compared to 2012 data, this represents a 13.01% decrease from when the country recorded 95.01 road deaths per million inhabitants.
Bulgaria comes in third, with 77.64 road deaths per million inhabitants. Bulgaria has seen the least change in road deaths among the top ten countries, with a decrease of just 6.02% since 2012, when the number of road deaths stood at 82.62 per million inhabitants.
Croatia ranks fourth on the list, with 71.20 road deaths per million inhabitants in 2022 data. This represents a 22.53% decrease from 2012 when road deaths were 91.91 per million inhabitants.
Portugal is in fifth place, with 62.30 road deaths per million inhabitants. This represents a decrease of 8.53% from 2012 data, which recorded 68.11 road deaths per million inhabitants.
The most dangerous European countries to drive in
The study also found that Norway is statistically the safest country to drive in Europe. The country recorded just 21.38 fatalities per million inhabitants in 2022, the lowest rate of any European country. Compared to 2012, this represents a 26.48% decrease over the decade, with 2012 recording 29.08 fatalities per million inhabitants.
Sweden is ranked second in the list of the safest countries, with only 21.72 road deaths per million inhabitants. Compared to 2012, this represents a 27.74% decrease from when the country recorded 30.05 road deaths per million inhabitants.
The UK comes in third place, with 25.89 road deaths per million population. The change in road deaths is less significant than in the other countries on the list, falling by just 9.51% from 2012, when the number of road deaths was 28.61 per million population.
Denmark ranks fourth, with 26.22 road deaths per million inhabitants in 2022 data. This represents a 12.38% decrease from 2012 when the country recorded 29.93 road deaths per million inhabitants.
Switzerland comes in fifth place, with 27.58 road deaths per million inhabitants. This represents a 35.29% decrease from 2012 data, and is the highest rate among the ten safest countries, where the number of road deaths was 42.62 per million inhabitants.
The safest European countries to drive in
Commenting on the findings, Mei Wijnmalen, CEO of Vignetteswitzerland.com, said: “Given the interconnectedness of Europe and the ease of travel from one country to another, it is important to stay aware of the driving conditions in each country you travel to. Many factors can influence these conditions, such as the quality of roads, driving laws or even changes in speed limits that can affect the risks you are exposed to simply by being on the road.”
