The National Road Safety Authority (ANSR) revealed this Friday that in the first quarter of 2024, there were 8268 accidents with victims on Portuguese roads, 105 fatalities, 552 serious injuries, and 9642 minor injuries, according to the report on accidents and road enforcement.
Comparing with the data from 2023, ANSR states that there were increases in all indicators, except for the severity index. There were 251 more accidents (+3.3%), two more fatalities (+2.0%), 17 more serious injuries (+3.4%), and 337 more minor injuries (+3.8%).
“It should be noted that, compared to 2023, there was an increase in road traffic in 2024, which corresponds to an increase in the risk of accidents, although there was a decrease of 4.1% in road fuel consumption.”
Collisions accounted for over half of the accidents in the first three months of 2024, representing 51.4% of accidents, 43.7% of fatalities, and 44.6% of serious injuries. Loss of control, which accounted for 32.8% of total accidents, was responsible for 42.7% of fatalities.
In the first quarter of 2024, ANSR indicated that 62.2 million vehicles were inspected, both in person and through automatic enforcement methods, representing an 85.9% increase compared to 2023. However, the number of infractions decreased to 213.8 thousand, a decrease of 6.8% compared to the same period in 2023. The majority of infractions committed by drivers, 72.6%, were related to speeding, which saw a 12.1% increase.
The ANSR’s report on road accidents and enforcement further states that “by March 2024, approximately 689.6 thousand drivers had lost points on their driving licenses”.
Since June 2016, the date the points-based driving license system came into effect, 3012 drivers have had their driving licenses revoked.