70 casualties

Fewer fatalities on domestic roads this year

The number of fatal accidents fell.

(Bild: Matthias Lauber/laumat.at/laumat)

At the end of the year, we traditionally look back on the year that has almost come to an end. In terms of road fatalities, it is clear that fewer people lost their lives on Austrian roads this year. Nevertheless, 70 people lost their lives in Upper Austria alone.

All it takes is a moment's inattention or inappropriate speed to cause a crash on the roads. "Anyone talking on a cell phone while driving reacts as slowly as a drunk driver with a blood alcohol level of 0.8 and is around five times more likely to have an accident. When reading and writing messages, the risk of an accident is even more than 20 times higher," explains VCÖ expert Katharina Jaschinsky.

Most fatalities in Lower Austria
In many cases, such collisions unfortunately end with the worst possible outcome: so far this year, 70 people have died in road accidents in Upper Austria. In a comparison of federal states, Lower Austria has the highest number with 83, followed by us - and Styria with 60. In Vorarlberg, only seven road deaths were registered this year.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Stock Adobe)

Braunau district stands out
The largest group of victims in Upper Austria are car drivers and passengers with 30, followed by 19 motorcyclists and seven truck occupants. When looking at the individual districts, Braunau stands out in particular. With twelve road fatalities, this district had the most victims this year. In the Vöcklabruck district, the number was also very high with eight fatalities.

No fatalities in Steyr
There is only good news from the town of Steyr, where there have been no fatal accidents since the beginning of the year. In general, this year's accident figures are lower than those of previous years - see also our graph above. The lowest number of road deaths in the past ten years was 67 in 2020 and 75 in both 2014 and 2023.