135 killed, 656 severely injured

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In 2016, 135 people died in 128 fatal accidents on Norwegian roads. A total of 656 people were severely injured. This was 18 more fatalities than in 2015, while the number who were severely injured fell by 37.

In 2011, the number of fatalities fell below 200 for the first time since before 1955. A total of 168 people were killed in traffic 2011. In 2015, the number was 117, which was followed by a slight increase in 2016. In the 1970s and 1980s, the number of fatalities varied between 560 (1970) and 338 (1981), with an average of 442 in the twenty-year period.

In the first four months of 2017, 26 people have lost their lives in traffic accidents according to preliminary figures, compared to 40 in the same period in 2016 and 27 in 2015.

Fewer severely injured

A total of 656 people were severely injured in road traffic accidents in 2016. By comparison, 4 552 people were severely injured in 1970.

The number who suffered slight injuries amounted to 4 613 in 2016, about 200 fewer than the previous year.

Figure 1. Road traffic accidents. Persons killed or slightly injured, by degree of injury. 2005-2016. 2005=100

Slightly injured 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Killed 100.00 108.04 104.02 113.84 94.64 92.86 75.00 64.73 83.48 65.63 52.23 60.27
Severely injured 100.00 96.21 89.97 88.74 76.87 73.08 69.50 71.55 71.95 68.99 70.93 67.14
Slightly injured 100.00 93.77 93.53 93.14 82.39 77.41 74.13 71.00 60.85 57.08 51.09 48.79

Low exposure risk

A total of 135 fatalities corresponds to 2.6 per 100 000 inhabitants. This is very low compared to most other countries. Our neighbouring country Sweden has an exposure risk of 2.7 per 100 000 inhabitants in 2016. In Denmark and Finland, the corresponding figures were 3.7 and 4.4 respectively, according to preliminary figures.

The EU Commission has recently released figures showing that 25 500 persons were killed in road traffic accidents in the EU countries in 2016, a 2 per cent decrease compared to the previous year.

Worldwide, the WHO has published figures showing that about 1.25 million people are killed every year in road traffic accidents. As we have highlighted, Nordic and European roads are among the safest in the world. The risk rates of 2.6 per 100 000 inhabitants in Norway and 5.0 within the EU can be compared with about 17 per 100 000 inhabitants globally.

Figure 2. Road traffic accidents. Persons killed in the Nordic countries per 100 000 of the population. 2004-2016

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016*
Denmark 6.8 6.1 5.6 7.5 7.4 5.5 4.6 3.9 3.0 3.4 3.2 3.1 3.7
Finland 7.2 7.2 6.4 7.2 6.5 5.2 5.1 5.4 4.7 4.7 4.1 4.9 4.4
Norge 5.6 4.9 5.2 5.0 5.4 4.4 4.2 3.4 2.9 3.7 2.9 2.2 2.6
Sweden 5.3 4.9 4.9 5.2 4.3 3.9 2.8 3.4 3.0 2.7 2.8 2.6 2.7

Few children killed

No one under the age of 6 was killed in traffic in 2016 or 2015. Six children and young people under 18 were killed in traffic accidents last year, compared to 4 in 2015. Thirty-two people aged 65 or older were killed, compared to 24 in 2015. In the age group 45-64, 46 lost their lives, compared to 30 in 2015. Forty people in the age group 18 to 34 were killed last year compared to 44 in 2015.

137 heavy vehicles involved in road traffic accidents

Fifteen people were killed in accidents involving heavy vehicles, compared to 16 in 2015. A total of 137 heavy vehicles were involved in a personal injury accident, compared to 134 in 2015.