Traffic accidents decreased 5.2% in 2021

The National Road Safety Unit (Unasev) presented this Friday the 13th the data from the Second Road Safety Management and Statistics Report, which reveals a 5.2% decrease in accidents during 2021 compared to 2019, the year prior to the pandemic. . The mortality rate decreased 3.9% and there were 6.8% fewer people injured. In Tourism Week, the number of deceased was reduced by half.
The director of Unasev, Alejandro Draper, explained that the report compares the years 2021 and 2019, because in 2020 there was a reduction in mobility throughout the country as a result of the health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study shows that the total number of traffic accidents decreased 5.2% in the analyzed period and the number of injured people decreased 6.8%.
In 2021 there were 1,028 fewer claims, which means a daily reduction of 28 cases. In turn, the mortality rate decreased 3.9%. 61% of the injured are men and the age group between 15 and 29 years concentrates the highest percentage of injured. 62.1% of the injured people traveled by motorcycle, 21.1% by car, 7.5% walked and 6.3% rode bicycles.
That same year, the vehicle fleet increased 4.4% compared to 2019 and fuel consumption increased 3.7%, according to the Unasev study.
Likewise, during the Tourism Week in 2022, some 500,000 more vehicles circulated compared to 2021, according to data from the Uruguayan Road Corporation recorded in the same report.
Draper indicated that, although a higher accident rate is expected with greater mobility, these figures decreased during the holiday period. Compared to 2021, there were 11% fewer deaths on national routes and a 50% reduction compared to 2019.
“Education and decentralization are the pillars of Unasev’s management”, he pointed out. In this sense, he recalled the signing of educational agreements with the State Health Services Administration (ASSE), the University of the Republic, the Gonchi Rodríguez Foundation, and the Institute of Education and Road Safety, among others. Presidency