What are the main causes of road accidents

According to statistics published by ISTAT, distraction is the main cause of road accidents.

What are the main causes of road accidents? According to ISTAT data, distracted driving (23,802 accidents: 15.7% of the total) is the main cause, usually due to excessive fatigue or drowsiness (often underestimated) by the driver responsible for the accident. To this is added a worrying fact, emerged in recent years, regarding the excessive use of the smartphone, which distracts and distracts attention from driving, becoming the cause of an increasing number of road accidents.

The lack of respect of precedence or semaphore (21.985 incidents: 14.5%) and the too high speed (15.194: 10%) confirm the other two main causes of road accidents. They follow, the lack of respect of the safety distance (13.148 cases: 8.7%) and the “irregular maneuvers” (es. reverse, reversal, invasion of lane, irregular maneuvers for stopping or to cross the roadway…) (11.294 accidents: 8.7%). The lack of priority to the pedestrian (4.838 cases) and the incorrect behavior of the pedestrian (4.252 cases) represent, finally, 3.2% and 2.8% of the total causes.

Trend incidentality

Analyzing the trend of incidentality, the comparison of the 2021 data with the previous year appears substantially “distorted”. 2020 was, in fact, a year characterized by numerous restrictions and prohibitions on mobility, depending on the containment of the pandemic from Covid-19. In 2021, in fact, road accidents increased significantly compared to 2020, as shown by the annual budget of the Traffic Police.

The overall accident index increased by 26.7%, in fact the accidents were 64,162, compared to 50,625 in 2020. The rate of fatal accidents (+15.5%), victims (+14.1%) and people injured as a result of accidents (+25.7%) also increased. The performance was in line with the data published by ISTAT in the “preliminary estimate” for the first half of 2021.

The variable Covid

On the contrary, comparing the 2021 data with those of 2019 (about 180,000 serious accidents), it can be seen that the level of claims has significantly decreased compared to pre-pandemic levels. In fact, the overall accident rate is down by 11.6%, fatalities and casualties are down by 15.4% and 17.9% as well as injuries and injuries are down by 16.7% and 22% respectively. This figure does not allow road operators to let down their guard, since last year, too, there were a number of limitations due to the pandemic, but it clearly shows the progress that has been made in the field of road safety.
It is important to specify that these estimates, both those of ISTAT and those reported by the Traffic Police, take into account only accidents that have caused physical damage to the people involved. The estimates of the ANIA on the total claims record numbers considerably higher (the ANIA estimates approximately 2,5 million incidents recorded annually, inclusive of small collisions).