Red: deaths; Blue: serious injuries;
Credit: Grand Ducal Police; STATEC
On Wednesday 3 July 2024, Luxembourg’s Ministry of Mobility and Public Works published the road accident report for the year 2023, drawn up jointly with the national statistics portal, STATEC, the Grand Ducal Police and the Administration of technical investigations.
Although the total number of accidents on Luxembourg's roads increased slightly, the number of deaths due to road accidents decreased in 2023: 26 people were involved in a total of 24 fatal accidents. Note that the number of fatal accidents decreased by 31% compared to 2022.
Over the last ten years, there has also been a 41% decrease in the number of fatal accidents.
However, the number of seriously injured victims increased by 35% over one year. Compared to 2023, a 14% increase in serious accidents was noted.
The ministry added that speed remains the dominant cause of road accidents, followed for the first time by failure to respect priority and crossing the safety line. According to statistics, 22% of serious injuries and 42% of deaths in 2023 were attributable to excessive or inappropriate speed.
Furthermore, other dangerous driving behaviour, such as disobeying the traffic rules with regard to pedestrians, remains the third main factor in fatal and serious accidents, highlighting the importance of infrastructure and the need to follow traffic management guidelines.
In 2023, Luxembourg recorded eight fatal accidents and 39 serious accidents involving driving under the influence of alcohol. Accidents involving drunk driving saw a slight decrease in the total number of fatal accidents. However, note that in half of the fatal accidents (excluding motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians), the driver was under the influence of a substance (legal or illegal) exceeding the legal limit.
According to statistics, the majority of accidents occurred between two or more vehicles, including bicycles, while accidents involving fixed obstacles and pedestrians remained at a “worrying” level, the ministry noted.
Furthermore, the age of drivers presumed responsible for fatal and serious accidents varied between eighteen and 64 years.
As part of the fight against road accidents, Luxembourg’s Minister for Mobility and Public Works, Yuriko Backes, commented: "Mortality on our roads continues to decrease, which is an encouraging trend that we must reinforce through our actions. However, the figures on serious accidents still show a worrying trend. It is therefore essential that we further tackle all forms of dangerous driving behaviour, including distraction. This is why I am currently working together with my teams on a security action plan in line with the government's priorities, which I intend to discuss with the various stakeholders in the coming months."
