In a positive development for road safety, the Czech Republic recorded its lowest number of traffic accident victims in over six decades in 2023, with a total of 443 people killed. This marks a 12-person decrease compared to the previous year and represents the fewest fatalities since continuous records began in 1961.
Preliminary data from the Czech police shows that road accidents were notably less fatal on many days, with no fatalities occurring on more than a third of the days in 2023. However, the most tragic days included Wednesday, January 24, and Tuesday, November 19, with seven fatalities reported on each of those days.
The majority of the victims were car drivers, accounting for over a third of the total fatalities. Motorcyclists and pedestrians followed in terms of numbers. Improper driving behavior, speeding, and failure to yield were identified as the most common causes of accidents.
While 2023 saw a decline in road fatalities, December 2023 was an exception, with 27 deaths reported, up from 20 fatalities in December 2022. However, despite this, the total number of fatalities for the year remains among the lowest in recent history.
In comparison, the highest number of fatalities since the founding of the Czech Republic occurred in 1994, with 1,473 deaths. Since 2008, the annual death toll has consistently been below 1,000, showing significant improvements in road safety over the past decade.
Additionally, the number of seriously injured individuals in road accidents in 2023 was the lowest since 1961, with fewer than 1,600 serious injuries reported, a slight improvement over the previous year’s figure of 1,624. This represents a promising trend in the ongoing effort to reduce traffic-related harm in the country.
