The National Road Safety Unit (UNASEV) presented the second report on Road Safety Management and Statistics. The study corresponds to accident data from 2021; but in addition, the comparative figures between the last two weeks of tourism were reported, as well as the preliminary figures of the trend of the first quarter corresponding to 2022.
There were 23,400 people who were injured as a result of traffic accidents (6.8% less than in 2019). Furthermore, of those 1,714 fewer injuries during the year, that means 47 fewer injuries per day. For its part, in 2021, compared to the pre-pandemic year 2019, total claims decreased by 5.2%.
In 2019 there were 19,768 claims; while in 2021 there were 18,740: 1,028 fewer claims, which means 28 fewer claims per day. Regarding the vehicle fleet, in 2021, it grew by 4.4% and fuel consumption by 3.7%. The mortality rate (fatalities/10,000 vehicles) decreased by 3.9%. Regarding the sex of the injured people, 61% were male and 39% female. Both genders present within the age groups between 15 and 29 years the highest percentage of injured, being the group of 20 to 24 the one that concentrates the greatest amount in both sexes with 19.5% and 15.1% respectively.
The collision between vehicles is the main typification of claims among injured people, accumulating 65% of the total; it is followed by a fall with 14% as the second classification of claims in importance. With regard to vehicles, 62.1% of the injured people traveled by motorcycle, 21.1% by car or van, 7.5% as pedestrians, 6.3% by bicycle, and the remaining 3% circulated in other means of transport. In reference to the role, 71.6% of the injured are drivers, followed by passengers 20.9% and pedestrians 7.5%.
In other data released, an average of 1,950 people with injuries due to traffic accidents arise monthly. December is the month that registers the highest number of injured with 10.4% (2,432). April is the month with the lowest number of injured, with 6.8% (1,584) of the total. Regarding the day of the week, Fridays and Saturdays were the days with the highest number of injured people with 16.5% (3,856) and 15.1% (3,524) of the total, respectively. Tuesday is the day that records the least number of injured with 13.1% (3,061) of the total.
In terms of road accidents during last Tourism week, the mobility data from the Uruguayan Road Corporation indicates that during Tourism, around 500,000 more vehicles moved in 2022 compared to 2021. In 2021 there were 900,000 vehicles that circulated on our routes , while in 2022 there were 1,400,000.
The higher the mobility, the higher the accident rate is expected; however, these figures decreased. Compared to 2021, there were 11% fewer deaths and 50% fewer than in 2019.
In data from the First Quarter 2022 (preliminary information as of May 9), there were 13 fewer deaths compared to the same period in 2021 and 28 fewer deaths in departmental jurisdiction compared to 2021.
