This page is archived.

Data published after 5 April 2022 can be found on the renewed website.

Go to the new statistics page

Published: 19 January 2017

A total of 270 persons died in road traffic accidents and 477 were seriously injured in 2015

According to Statistics Finland, 5,185 road traffic accidents involving personal injury occurred in 2015. In all, 270 persons died in accidents and 6,408 were injured, of which 477 persons or 7.4 per cent seriously 1) . In 2015, there were 41 more fatalities than one year before and 297 fewer injured persons.

Road traffic fatalities by age group in 1995 to 2015

Road traffic fatalities by age group in 1995 to 2015

Examined by age group, the number of road traffic fatalities increased in every age group. The number of deaths increased most in the over 64 age group. Fatalities among them numbered 71, which is 15 more than in 2014. The number of road traffic fatalities among children (aged 0 to 14), amounted to 14, which is four more than in the previous year. Among both young people (aged 15 to 24) and adults (aged 25 to 64) the number of fatalities increased by 11, being 55 and 130 respectively.

The total number of injured in road traffic accidents decreased by almost 300 in 2015 from the year before. However, when viewed by age group, it can be said that injuries of young people and adults decreased in particular. By contrast, the injuries of children (aged 0 to 14) and aged people (aged 64 or over) increased slightly compared to 2014. In 2015, the number of children injured in road traffic accidents was 429, which was 17 more than in the year before. The number of injured persons among the aged population was, in turn, 934, which is 12 more than in 2014.

Around one-quarter of persons killed and good one-third of those injured in road traffic accidents were young people, aged under 25.

During 2015, altogether 477 persons were seriously injured in road traffic. Of them, 154 were passenger car drivers and 65 passengers. Sixty motorcyclist including passengers were seriously injured. The number of seriously injured pedestrians was 57, that of cyclists 53 and moped riders 46.

Of all the people injured in road traffic accidents a little over seven per cent were seriously injured. Examined by age group, the relative share of seriously injured persons was highest in the over 64 age group (11 per cent). In younger age groups, the relative share of seriously injured was smaller, among children (aged 0 to 14) only slightly over four per cent.

In 2015, the number of road traffic deaths was highest in passenger cars, where 117 were killed as drivers and 42 as passengers. Compared with the previous year, 24 more drivers and 14 more passengers were killed. The number of road traffic fatalities among motorcycle riders also increased slightly in 2015. The number of fatalities was 20, which is three more than in 2014. Two moped riders were killed, that is, one fewer than one year earlier. Altogether, 32 pedestrians were killed in road traffic accidents in 2015, which is four fewer than in 2014. The number of cyclists' road traffic deaths was, in turn, 31, or four more than in the year before.

A majority of accidents resulting in death occurred in head-on collisions and swerving accidents. One hundred and one people were killed in head-on collisions and 77 in swerving accidents. Over one-quarter of injured persons (1,768 persons) sustained injuries in swerving accidents.

Of all the road traffic fatalities in 2015, altogether 22 were suicides 2) . So the share of suicides in road traffic fatalities was eight per cent.

In 2015, the number of alcohol-related accidents involving personal injury was 507, which is 28 fewer than in the year before. There were six fewer drunken driving accidents than in the year before, that is, 454. A total of 57 persons died and 569 persons were injured in drunken driving accidents in 2015, while in the previous year, the corresponding figures were 41 deaths and 576 injured persons.


1) A seriously injured person refers to a person involved in a road traffic accident who is classified as being seriously injured in accordance with the AIS Abbreviated Injury Scale (AAAM, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine). In addition to the road traffic accident data, the data of the care register of the National Institute for Health and Welfare were used in the classification of injuries
2) Source: Statistics on Causes of death, Statistics Finland.

Source: Transport and Tourism: Statistics on road traffic accidents. Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Matti Kokkonen 029 551 3770, Jukka Tuominen 029 551 3621, liikenne.matkailu@stat.fi

Director in charge: Mari Ylä-Jarkko

Publication in pdf-format (169.6 kB)

Tables

Tables in databases

Pick the data you need into tables, view the data as graphs, or download the data for your use.


Updated 19.1.2017

Referencing instructions:

Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Statistics on road traffic accidents [e-publication].
ISSN=2342-3846. 2015. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 19.3.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/ton/2015/ton_2015_2017-01-19_tie_001_en.html