(ANSA) - ROME, DECEMBER 16 - In 2020 Istat records the collapse of the record of accidents, injuries and victims on Italian roads.
According to a preliminary estimate, from January to September - complicated restrictions due to the Covid pandemic - accidents with injuries to people were 90,821, equal to -29.5% compared to the previous year. The injured were 123,061, with a decrease of 32%, while the victims within the thirtieth day were 1,788, a decrease of 26.3%. If the observation is limited to the period January-June 2020, the decreases are more pronounced, equal to about 34% for victims and almost 40% for accidents and injuries. "With reference to the 2010-2020 European objectives for road safety, although the drastic decrease in victims in 2020 brings Italy closer to the pre-established target of -50% - explains Istat in a note -, this does not allow us to read the goals achieved with a positive meaning . The radical decline in mortality in the periods of confinement of the population and blocking of traffic have led to a forced decrease in accidents and victims, unrelated to virtuous behavior and the improvement of road safety. In percentage terms, in the first nine months of 2020 the number of deaths dropped by 43.1% compared to 2010 and 66.4% compared with the same period in 2001 ". (HANDLE).