Romania had a high rate of deaths following road traffic accidents in 2010, compared to other EU countries, and almost similar to the rate in the US, according to a report from the World Health Organization WHO.

Romania has 11.1 road traffic deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, similarly to Lithuania, but higher than in Bulgaria – 10.4 and in Hungary – 9.1. Western European countries had much lower rates in 2010 – in France it was of only 6.4 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, in Germany and Denmark – 4.7, in UK – 3.7 and in Sweden, only 3. Romania's rate is comparable to the one in the US – 11.4, and in Bangladesh – 11.6.

Romania had 2.377 deaths after road traffic accidents in 2010, while Bulgaria, just 775. In Russia, there were as much as 26,567 deaths following road traffic accidents.

In Romania, the maximum allowed speed on public roads was given an 8 out of 10 mark, while Norway, Hungary, Austria and Bulgaria got a 7.

About 1.24 million road traffic deaths occur annually on the world’s roads, making road traffic injuries the eighth leading cause of death globally, and the leading cause of death for young people aged 15–29 years, according to the WHO.

editor@romania-insider.com