Annual Report 2023 Road Safety in Austria

The road safety programmes developed for the periods 2002–2010 and 2011–2020 formed the basis for the strategic measures in the field of road safety in Austria. But even after these programmes have come to an end, continued efforts are required to further reduce the numbers of accidents, fatalities and injuries on the country’s roads, and a new Austrian Road Safety Strategy has thus been developed for the period from 2021 to 2030. This strategy, which builds on the two prior road safety programmes, expands the previous methodology by adopting an innovative approach that considers both the principles of the “Safe System” as well as the mobility trends and developments of our time.

The era of the new Austrian Road Safety Strategy began in 2021. In line with the Safe System philosophy, the road safety strategy in Austria now aims to bring about a paradigm shift from the prevention of accidents to the prevention of serious or fatal injuries on the roads. Seven fields of action have been defined to address the key topics in road safety for the next decade. To facilitate its regular adaptation to new developments, the road safety strategy is augmented by time-specific thematic action plans, thus giving due consideration to new technologies as well as current trends and developments in the transport and mobility turnaround.

The primary goal of the Austrian Road Safety Strategy 2021–2030 is to reduce the number of road accident fatalities and seriously injured road users by half by the year 2030. Moreover, by the end of its period of validity, no more children should be fatally injured on Austria’s roads. Alongside road safety measures, a set of safety indicators is also being established to describe the parameters that lead to road accidents or injuries and thus provide ongoing information on current trends.

This report outlines the road safety activities and measures carried out in Austria in 2023. It contains information on accident statistics, trends and developments in recent years and the measures taken in the fields of action defined in the Austrian Road Safety Strategy.

Annual Report 2023 "Road Safety in Austria" (PDF, 2 MB)