STA, 15 January 2020 - Slovenia's road safety statistics for 2019 shows a 12% increase in the number of road traffic deaths - more than 100 persons lost their lives in road accidents last year, mostly due to drink driving, speeding and reckless driving. The Traffic Agency has highlighted the importance of raising awareness about responsible driving.
Almost 50 persons died as a result of speeding, followed by some 20 dying because of wrong-way driving, and twelve due to drivers forcing the right of way.
Drivers under influence caused more than 1,520 accidents, killing some 30 persons involved in them, a slight increase compared to the year before. Drink drivers were thus responsible for one out of three road fatalities in 2019.
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Source: Wikipedia
Almost half of total road accident victims were traffic participants from vulnerable groups - motor riders, pedestrians and cyclists.
Despite the larger number of road accidents, there were fewer seriously injured people though.
The agency's head Vesna Marinko said at today's press conference that last year's figures were not promising, but the situation was improving taking into account a longer timeline.
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She warned about the dangers of drink driving and urged drivers to exercise caution and responsible driving.
Ivan Kapun, the head of the General Police Department's Traffic Police, said that alcohol abuse was ingrained in society, but the police had noted that most young drivers in cities found it unacceptable to be drunk behind the wheel.
Apart from driving under the influence, mobile phone use is another issue posing danger to road safety. The agency has thus launched a prevention campaign in cooperation with the police raising awareness about the dangers of using a phone while driving.
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