Road safety has improved, but too many people are still dying
Press release on audit No 22/26 – 6 November 2023
Over the last eleven years - from 2011 to 2022 - road safety has increased in the Czech Republic. The number of people killed in road accidents has fallen by 35.8% and the number of people seriously injured by 43.9%. Despite this, one of the main strategic objectives, to halve the number of people killed compared to the baseline period, has not been met. In 2020, for example, 127 more people died on our roads compared to this indicator. This was found by SAO auditors, who examined the Ministry of Transport (MoT), the Road and Motorway Directorate (RMD) and the Road Transport Services Centre (RTSC) to see whether from 2017 to 2022, the amount of CZK 425.2 million earmarked for road safety improvement was spent effectively and economically.
In 2020, the number of traffic-related deaths was not expected to exceed 333. However, 460 people have died on the roads. This is despite the fact that road traffic volumes, and therefore accident rates, were lower in 2020 - given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions. The current main strategic objective is to reduce the number of people killed in 2030 to half of the 2017 to 2019 average, i.e. below 269 people per year. However, current developments are not contributing to this goal. As the SAO found, in the first quarter of 2023, not only did road deaths not decrease, but the number of deaths was the highest since 2015. The SAO believes that the 2030 target is unlikely to be achieved given the current trends.
Helmets save lives, but won't be mandatory
Two legislative changes were also intended to improve road safety: the introduction of mandatory helmets for all cyclists and the introduction of the alkolock as an effective technical solution to prevent drink-driving. However, the MoT backed away from these plans without convincing justification.
Between 2017 and 2022, a total of 184 cyclists without helmets were killed in traffic accidents. According to MoT calculations, up to 37% of them, i.e. 68 people, could have survived the accident if they had been wearing a helmet. According to the Ministry, the use of bicycle helmets can result in up to a 65% reduction in fatalities and a 69% reduction in serious injuries. Yet the MoT has refrained from making it mandatory for all, saying that legislating the requirement is "not desirable."
According to the MoT, the introduction of the alkolock, a device capable of blocking the start of a vehicle if the driver inhales alcohol, can prevent drunk driving and thus have a positive effect on reducing the number of road accidents resulting in death or serious injury. It was intended to particularly affect professional and repeat drunk drivers. The MoT justified its withdrawal by stating that this was not a common practice in EU countries.
Formal management of coordinators only
The auditors also found deficiencies in the management and control activities of the RTSC, which is involved in ensuring road safety through regional coordinators. The RTSC also reimbursed the coordinators for hundreds of hours of activities that had no impact on the level of road safety - e.g. administrative activities, warehouse work or participation in social events. For example, one coordinator was paid for 109 hours of administrative work, which was fully 82% of the total hours worked in the month. Five of the coordinators audited were paid by the RTSC - contrary to their contracts - for example for media training or a seminar with a psychologist.
The SAO therefore assessed the management and control activities of the RTSC as insufficient and formal - leading to a significant reduction in efficiency and to wastefulness. "One month after the end of our audit, we found out from the MoT website that the Minister had transferred the activities of the regional coordinators in 14 regions from the RTSC to the Ministry. In the light of the results of our audit, I consider this a step in the right direction and I believe that the Ministry will already disburse money for the activities of the regional BESIP coordinators in an effective and economical way," commented Jan Kinšt, a member of the SAO who led the audit.
RMD: slow to address risks
According to the auditors, a total of CZK 4.8 million spent by the RMD from September 2017 to March 2023 on the removal of 1,956 unauthorised advertising devices was spent effectively. The SAO also assessed the installation of road signs to prevent oncoming traffic on motorways as effective, as it led to a decrease in this phenomenon. While 215 oncoming journeys were recorded in 2019, only 95 were recorded three years later. The SAO found shortcomings in the activities of the RMD in eliminating the risks of traffic accidents on roads under construction or already existing. Despite the fact that for more than 400 audits and inspections that drew attention to the risks, the RMD paid a total of CZK 75.6 million between 2017 and 2022, it made only limited use of their recommendations. For example, on the trans-European transport network roads, it has eliminated only 29% of the risks identified in 2015 in five years. Moreover, it did not prioritise addressing those risks that the safety auditors considered could not be delayed.
Accident statistics
Between 2011 and 2022, 6,803 people were killed and 28,821 people were seriously injured as a result of road accidents on the roads of the Czech Republic. In 2022, 454 people were killed and 1,734 seriously injured. In addition to the impact on human life and health, traffic accidents also have a negative impact on the economy of the Czech Republic. For example, in 2022, the estimated total annual economic losses from traffic accidents amounted to almost CZK 135 billion, which is approximately 2.2% of the Czech GDP. During the audit, the SAO assessed exclusively the MoT. However, the state of road safety is also influenced by other entities, such as the Ministry of the Interior, the Police of the Czech Republic or regions and municipalities.
Communication Department
Supreme Audit Office