# Context
Nowadays, smart technologies allow to connect and automate the cars and other vehicles, aiming to improve the road safety, as most road accidents are currently caused by humans [Publication of 2015 Road Safety Statistics](zotero://select/library/items/NR8RH6DJ)(Lives, 2016). The new 'urban policy initiative' encourages cities to move towards a more sustainable transport system, encouraging walking, cycling and public transport and will introduce better monitoring of road deaths [Road safety in the EU](zotero://select/library/items/Q8ZIST7V)(EU Commission, 2020). European Parliament (2021) has initiated a Report on Road Safety (Commission, 2020; Zu et al., 2022), which contributes to the EU's long-term vision to move as close as possible to zero fatalities in road transport by 2050 (Vision Zero). Other road safety indicators can be derived based on the number of road fatalities to evaluate road safety across countries (Navin et al., 1996; Wegman & Hagenzieker, 2010).

The world's road safety is in crisis (Wegman, 2017; WHO, 2022). Approximately 1.3 million people die each year due to road traffic crashes, with more than half of all road traffic deaths being pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. Globally, the number of road fatalities per 100 thousand people (road fatality rate) ranges from less than 3 to almost 40; however, some countries are hit harder than others, depending on the country (Wegman, 2017; Wegman & Hagenzieker, 2010). For example, 6000 children died on EU roads in ten years (ETSC, 2022). In EU countries, almost 19 thousand persons were killed in road accidents in 2020, with a ratio of 42 fatalities per million inhabitants; which is lower than in 2019, reflecting the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the use of road transport (Eurostat, 2022)
# Example for considering the significance of difference: comparing road fatalities in 2010 and 2017

Comparing 2010 and 2017 (Figure 1), the results indicate that road fatalities decreased from 63 to 49 per million inhabitants in EU countries. Differences between countries have also decreased. In 2010, there were five countries (Romania, Greece, Bulgaria, Latvia and Poland) with over a hundred road deaths per million inhabitants. In 2017, all Member States were below that threshold.

In 2010, the best performers were Sweden (28), the United Kingdom (30), Malta (31) and the Netherlands (32), compared to 2017, the best were Sweden (25), the United Kingdom (28) and Denmark (30). Although most EU countries have improved their road safety records since 2010, there is a threefold gap between them.

![[Road deaths per million population.png]]
Figure 1. Fatality rate (road fatalities per million inhabitants) in 2010 and 2017.
Source data: TRAN_R_ACCI [Road safety statistics at regional level - Statistics Explained](zotero://select/library/items/XIG6PC59)(Eurostat)