Poland takes steps to reduce number of road accidents

The government has rolled out a new road safety programme aimed at making the country’s highways and byways safer for their users.

The PLN 2.5-billion (EUR 550-million) Safe Road Infrastructure Programme aims to reduce in the years 2021-24 the number of road accident fatalities by at least 40 percent, and the number of serious injuries by at least 41 percent. Funds for the programme will come from the National Road Fund.

According to the police data, there were 2,487 fatalities and over 26,000 people were injured in road accidents in 2020.

"We will brighten or add additional lighting at road crossings, separate pedestrian traffic from vehicles, improve visibility at intersections and reduce the number of collision points," Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said at a post-cabinet-meeting press conference on Tuesday.

"The improvement of national roads in many places will be given special priority by the government in the coming two to three years," he added.

Infrastructure Minister Andrzej Adamczyk said the "the number of road accidents in Poland is falling, but not as fast as one would like."