In Cyprus, 23% of all road fatalities concern young people of 18 – 25 years, which the European Commission considers as alarming.

Vice President of the Commission, responsible for Transport, Siim Kallas described the tragic loss of young lives on European roads as unacceptable, expressing his deep concern over accidents due to drugs or alcohol.
Kallas, who was referring to the 4th European Road Safety Day, said that only by changing young people’s driving mentality can we continue to save lives.

The 4th European Road Safety Day is dedicated this year to young people. The day is marked by a conference, jointly organised with the Cyprus EU Presidency today in Nicosia. The conference brings together youth groups, road safety organisations and road safety officials from all EU Member States, as well as from neighbouring countries for a day of discussions, presentations and workshops.

Road crashes are still the biggest cause of death and disability for young people, in both the world and Europe. 19% of road fatalities in the EU in 2010 affected young people aged between 18-25 years old (although this age group comprise only 10% of the total population).

Young people aged between 18 and 25 are over-represented in road traffic fatalities. In 2010, 31 000 fatalities in road accidents involved young people between 18 and 25 years old – 80% were boys and 20% girls, while in 40 % of fatal accidents a young driver was involved.
Nevertheless, road fatalities among young people can are not inevitable. Road deaths for the 18-25 age group decreased by 49% from 2001 to 2010, more than the general decrease (43%).

The EU`s objective is to cut road deaths in Europe in half by 2020.