Heatwave blamed as road deaths climb

It was a bad year on Switzerland's roads Keystone

The number of people killed on Switzerland’s roads jumped by seven per cent last year to 549 – the first rise in two years.

The increase contrasts with fewer road deaths across the European Union and comes amid government plans to halve the number of fatalities by 2010.

The Swiss Council for Accident Prevention said on Tuesday that last summer’s hot weather could have contributed to the higher figures as more motorists took to the open road.

But the number of road deaths fell in other European countries such as France, Finland and Greece, while early estimates suggest that they decreased by 11.6 per cent across the EU last year.

Prior to last year, the number of road deaths had been in decline in Switzerland. In 2002 the figure stood at its lowest level since 1946.

Safety campaigns

Rolf Moning, spokesman for the Council for Accident Prevention, said that the increase in road deaths did not mean that preventive measures and safety campaigns had failed.

But the organisation called for more to be done to slow speeding drivers. It proposed lowering speed limits on Swiss roads last year, but strong opposition from the motoring lobby killed off any change.

The Swiss authorities still want to see the number of deaths drop to fewer than 300 by 2010. The government is expected to decide on a new package of safety measures next year.

But not everyone is convinced the target can be reached in time.

“You cannot always predict individual behaviour on the road,” said Georges Grosset, head of the canton Geneva traffic police.

Changes are already afoot for 2005. The blood-alcohol limit will be reduced and a new provisional driver’s licence valid for three years will be introduced.

Road rage

But the biggest concern seems to be aggressive drivers. “I think that the increase in road deaths comes from heightened aggressiveness,” said Grosset.

But teaching people to drive safely costs money and Switzerland’s biggest motoring association believes some cantons are not taking education and prevention seriously enough.

“To save its police force money, Aargau, for example, has decided to cut down on prevention work,” said spokesman Joël Grandjean. “We would like more public funds used to teach driver behaviour.”

Grandjean told swissinfo that other ways of improving driver technique and behaviour should be looked at.

“We think insurers should encourage drivers to take special courses and perhaps cut premiums that way,” he said.

swissinfo

Key facts

Road deaths in Switzerland in 2003: 549, up by 7%.
Fatalities in the EU are estimated to have dropped by 11.6%.
France: down 23%.
Germany: down 6%.
Finland: down 19%.
Sweden: down 10%.
Britain: up 22%.

In brief

The number of pedestrians killed in Switzerland fell last year, from 96 in 2002 to 87.

The Swiss authorities hope to cut the number of road deaths to fewer than 300 by 2010 through a series of safety and prevention measures.

As of 2005, the blood-alcohol limit will be lowered.

New drivers licences will be issued for a three-year probationary period, with ongoing training.