The official number of road fatalities will be released by the Ministry of Transport in the coming months, but according to RTL statistics the number of deaths fell in 2019, well below 2017 figures.
However, the Association of Traffic Victims (AVR) is not content with the drop in numbers and said there was much to still be done to improve road safety. Trees in particular remain an issue.
A simple glance at recent news articles displays a common theme in many road accidents, with numerous vehicles hitting trees since 1 January alone.
AVR president Raymond Schintgen has been campaigning for removal of trees on road sides for the last 15 years, citing the 8-10 deaths associated with tree accidents per year, on top of the number of people left injured after such crashes. He explained he did not believe the roadside trees were necessary for environmental reasons, pointing out there are often forests nearby and the trees therefore serve an aesthetic purpose.
On roads with speed limits of 70 km/h, trees should be at least four metres away from the road, while for roads with a speed limit of 90 km/h they should be seven to eight metres away.
Schintgen clarified he was pleased the number of road deaths had dropped, but that he was hesitant to say whether this was a positive trend. In 2017 the number of fatalities dropped to just 25, but it rose again sharply in 2018, when 38 people lost their lives on the roads.
Schintgen said the reasons for serious road accidents had not changed, with alcohol the driving force behind many incidents. He advocated for a zero-tolerance approach to drink driving, and also lambasted those who break speed limits. He called for stricter measures for motorists who use mobile phones while driving, supporting comments made by Minister for Transport François Bausch last year, who suggested screens should not be accessible while driving.
The number of motorcycle fatalities also dropped in the last year, down to just four, compared to nine in 2018 and seven in 2017. Jean-Pierre Kauffmann of the Luxembourg Federation of Motorcycles expressed satisfaction at the decrease and praised the Ministry of Transport's work. The Ministry and the Federation collaborated on a 50-page document for motorcycle safety, increasing the number of barriers and making zebra crossings safer and more noticeable.
