The number of road traffic deaths in Greece has plummeted during the years of the economic crisis, according to figures presented on Tuesday at the Institute of Public Health of the American College of Athens (IPHACA).

The data show that the number of road fatalities has decreased by a whopping 52 percent between 2007 and 2017. Giorgos Giannis, professor at the National Technical University of Athens, and Giorgios Baltopoulos, professor emeritus of Medicine, attribute the drop to several factors.

They stated that improved road networks and the reduction in the total number of vehicles during the recession as important factors in the decrease. They also cited a shift in driving behavior patterns, with Greeks driving slower to reduce fuel consumption and to avoid incurring potential extra expenditures in an accident.

They also mentioned that drivers are now driving more technologically advanced vehicles, leading to much safer roads today.

Nevertheless, the number of road fatalities in Greece is still higher than the E.U. average, according to a European Commission fact sheet from 2018, with 69 casualties per million citizens in 2017.

The country with the most deaths is Bulgaria, with 96 road fatalities per million inhabitants, while Norway recorded the lowest rate, with 20 deaths per million citizens.

Source: Nick Kampouris/greekreporter