Accidents on motorways down in 2008
The statistics of the Czech Police Presidium have recorded a significant decrease in the number of accidents on Czech motorways in 2008, with 340 fewer accidents in 2008 (a total of 5445 accidents) than in 2007 (a total of 5785 accidents).
Motorways are seeing a decrease in the number of accidents and the number of fatalities and injuries
The country's longest motorway, the D1 (3519 accidents in 2008), is followed by the D5 from Prague to Pilsen (756), the D11 from Prague to Hradec Králové (496), and the D8 from Prague via Ústí nad Labem to the German border (447). Although the total number of accidents continues to be high, the downward trend is a positive development.
According to the Czech Road and Motorway Directorate, the downward trend in the number of accidents is the result of ongoing improvements in safety measures on Czech motorways. "Every year, we invest hundreds of millions of crowns into motorway safety. The last two years have seen record investments. And it pays," says the directorate's director general, Alfred Brunclík. The directorate's latest statistics are very promising - in previous years, the number of accidents had been continually on the rise. In 2008, this trend came a halt and turned around. The total number of accidents on motorways in 2008 and 2007 are as follows:
Motorway/number of accidents | 2007 | 2008 |
| Motorway D1 (Praha – Brno - Ostrava) | 3619 | 3519 |
| Motorway D2 (Brno – Břeclav) | 254 | 227 |
| Motorway D5 (Praha – Rozvadov) | 922 | 756 |
| Motorway D8 (Praha – Petrovice) | 426 | 447 |
| Motorway D11 (Praha – Hradec Králové) | 564 | 496 |
| Total for all motorways in the Czech Republic | 5785 | 5445 |
One highly curious fact is that the number of accidents dropped from the previous year despite the large pile-up on the D1 at the beginning of 2008. If this pile-up had not occurred, the statistics for 2008 would be even more positive. The downward trend in the number of accidents has been mirrored by a downward trend in the number of fatalities and injuries. While 2007 saw 47 people killed on Czech motorways, in 2008 this figure was 15 fewer (32 people). In 2007, there 83 people suffered serious injury; in 2008, this figure was 90. Slight injuries were suffered by 649 (2007) and 638 (2008) individuals. The main causes of accidents remained the same. The most frequent cause was failure to adjust speed to road conditions and visibility, followed by exceeding the speed limit, improper manner of driving, failure to yield, and collisions with wild animals.
Also declining was the overall amount of damages caused by accidents on Czech motorways. In 2007, this amount reached 6.382 billion crowns; the 2008 figure was 6.296 billion crowns.
The highest accident rates are on lower-class roads
The statistics also clearly show the extent to which Czechs are mistaken about accidents on Czech roads and motorways. According to a STEM study from 2008, most people believe that the largest number of accidents occur on motorways. In fact, the opposite is true. The unambiguous leaders in the number of accidents in the Czech Republic are class II and III roads. The safest roadways are motorways and high-speed roads.
The most objective indicator for a comparison of the seriousness of accidents on motorways and other roads is the relative accident rate, i.e., the ratio between the number of accidents involving people (i.e., accidents involving a fatality or slight or serious injury) to the road's annual traffic load in vehicle-kilometers. This is the calculation used by the directorate when tracking developments in accident rates. The directorate's analysis shows that in recent years there has been a decline in relative accident rates on all types of roads. Nevertheless, relative accident rates for the Czech Republic continue to be twice the European average and more than three times those found in countries such as Sweden or Great Britain.
Developments in relative accident rates on motorways and class I, II, and III roads in the Czech Republic (1985-2007)
(excludes road segments in Prague, Brno, Ostrava, České Budějovice, Pilsen, and Karlovy Vary)
Accidents involving people/traffic load (103 vehicles per year)
Motorway Class I road Class II road Class III road
A comparison of relative accident rates for motorways and class I, II, and III roads clearly shows that, thanks to their design, motorways are 3.6x safer than class I roads, 4.8x safer than class II roads and 6.8x safer than class III roads. "The data clearly shows the immense significance of motorways and high-speed roads for increasing traffic safety as apposed to existing, primarily two-lane roads which frequently run through towns," adds Brunclík.
A comparison of the long-term developments in the relative fatal accident rate (the number of accidents with a fatality within 24 hours of the accident as related to the annual traffic load) clearly shows that, when it comes to fatal accidents, motorways are 2.4x safer than class I roads, 2.2x safer than class II roads, and 2.7x safer than class III roads.
In recent years, the relative fatal accident rate on motorways has shown a significant decline. The relative fatal accident rate for the past three years decreased by more than 50% over the preceding years.
A comparison (see the following graphs) of accident rates for the newly constructed section of the D11 motorway from km 42 to km 86.5 (opened on 20 December 2006) and the parallel section of the I/11 class I road from its junction with I/32 (km 0.33) to the intersection with II/324 and III/32329 (km 44.61) clearly shows the contribution of the construction of the motorway-type road to reducing the number of accidents and the number of fatalities. Currently, freight vehicles are forbidden from using the D11 from km 68 to km 86.5. Once the motorway has been opened for freight traffic, we can expect an improvement of the situation on the parallel section of the I/11.
A comparison of the number of accidents per km of D11 (km 42 to 86.5) and the I/11 class I road (km 0.33 to 44.61), 2000-2008
Number of accidents/km of roadway
The following graph clearly shows that there has not been a single fatality on the section of D11 opened on 20 December 2006, while the parallel section of the I/11 witnessed a significant decrease in fatalities.
Number of fatalities on the D11 motorway (km 42 to 85.6) and the I/11 class I road (km 0.33 to 44.61), 2000-2008
