Home > Statistics > Statistics on road traffic accidents > 2016 > A total of 258 persons died in road traffic accidents and 460 were seriously injured in 2016

Published: 16 January 2018

A total of 258 persons died in road traffic accidents and 460 were seriously injured in 2016

According to Statistics Finland, 4,752 road traffic accidents involving personal injury occurred in 2016. In them, 258 persons were killed and 5,911 injured. Eight per cent of the injured, or 460 persons, were injured seriously ¹⁾ . In 2016, the number of deaths was 12 lower and that of injured persons 497 fewer than in 2015. Eighty-one per cent of those having died and 58 per cent of injured were men.

Road traffic fatalities by age group in 1995 to 2016

In 2016, the number of road traffic fatalities decreased or remained unchanged in all examined age groups compared with the previous year. The number of injured persons also declined in all examined age groups. The number of persons seriously injured in road traffic accidents in turn decreased in the group of adults, that is, those aged 25 to 64, but increased in all other age groups.

During 2016, altogether 460 persons were seriously injured in road traffic. Of them, 142 were passenger car drivers and 66 passengers. Sixty-seven motorcyclists were seriously injured. The numbers of seriously injured pedestrians was 46, that of cyclists 54 and moped riders 50.

In 2016, the number of road traffic deaths was highest in passenger cars, where 119 drivers and 31 passengers were killed. Compared with the previous year, two more drivers and 11 fewer passengers were killed. Seventeen motorcyclists were killed, which is three fewer than in 2015. Five moped riders were killed, three more than in the year before. Altogether, 29 pedestrians were killed in road traffic accidents in 2016, which is three fewer than in the year before. The number of cyclists' road traffic deaths was 26, or five fewer than in 2015.

A majority of accidents resulting in death occurred in head-on collisions and swerving accidents. Eighty-five people were killed in head-on collisions and 90 in swerving accidents. Of the injured, 28 per cent (1,657 persons) took place in swerving accidents.

Of all the road traffic fatalities in 2016, altogether 28 were suicides committed by collisions with a motor vehicle ²⁾ . The share of suicides in road traffic fatalities was around 11 per cent.

In 2016, the number of alcohol-related accidents involving personal injury was 508, which is one more than in the year before. There were three fewer drunken driving accidents than in the year before, that is, 451. A total of 60 persons died and 574 persons were injured in drunken driving accidents in 2016, while in the previous year, the corresponding figures were 57 deaths and 569 injured persons.

Most road traffic accidents took place in January (2,039 accidents), of which 17 per cent (337) led to personal injury. Most accidents involving personal injury occurred in August, 523, of which 29 were fatal accidents and 494 were accidents resulting in injury. In 2016, most accidents resulting in serious injury took place in May to September. The number of accidents resulting in serious injury was highest in June, 58.

1) A seriously injured person refers to a person involved in a road traffic accident who is classified as being seriously injured in accordance with the AIS Abbreviated Injury Scale (AAAM, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine). In addition to the road traffic accident data, the data of the care register of the National Institute for Health and Welfare were used in the classification of injuries
2) Source: Statistics on Causes of death, Statistics Finland.

Source: Transport and Tourism: Statistics on road traffic accidents. Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Matti Kokkonen 029 551 3770, Tiina Luojus 029 551 2656, liikenne.matkailu@stat.fi

Director in charge: Sami Saarikivi

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Updated 16.1.2018