BENCHMARKING ROAD SAFETY PERFORMANCE IN THE EU PROJECT ROADS4ALL USE CASE COUNTRIES: Insights from the International Road Federation Road Safety Dataset/IRF Data Warehouse

Reliable road safety data are essential for evidence-based policymaking and for supporting the implementation of the Safe System Approach. While road safety performance has improved across Europe in recent years, substantial differences persist between countries in terms of fatality outcomes, Vulnerable Road User (VRU) risks, infrastructure characteristics and transport exposure. This paper provides a comparative assessment of road safety performance in the five Roads4All (101203314) Use Case countries—Estonia, Greece, Croatia, Serbia and Italy—using indicators from the International Road Federation (IRF) World Road Statistics for the period 2018–2023. The analysis considers population-based fatality rates, temporal trends, VRU fatalities, road-network characteristics, vehicle ownership and selected traffic-exposure indicators. Descriptive statistical analysis and cross-country benchmarking are applied to identify common trends, persistent challenges and areas for targeted intervention. The results reveal considerable heterogeneity in the evolution and underlying characteristics of road safety performance across the five countries. Using the 2019 pre-pandemic baseline adopted in the EU road safety framework, published 2023 figures indicate reductions in the number of road deaths of approximately 10% in Greece, 8% in Croatia, 6% in Serbia and 2% in Italy, while Estonia recorded an increase of approximately 13%. Differences in transport exposure and infrastructure development nevertheless demonstrate the importance of interpreting fatality outcomes within their broader system context. Across 2018–2023, the reported road network increased by approximately 52% in Estonia and 4% in Serbia, remained broadly stable in Italy and Greece, and declined slightly in Croatia. Motorway and highway provision increased across all five countries, while vehicle ownership also increased, particularly in Serbia, Croatia and Greece. These developments illustrate the importance of considering network scale, infrastructure characteristics and motorisation when comparing national road safety performance.
The analysis of VRU fatalities further demonstrates substantial differences between countries and road user groups. Pedestrian fatalities declined markedly in Greece, Croatia and Italy, while Serbia recorded a more moderate reduction and Estonia recorded an increase. In contrast, fatalities among users of motorised two and three-wheeled vehicles increased in Italy, Greece and Croatia over the longest comparable periods available, while declining in Serbia. Cyclist fatalities also followed divergent trajectories, increasing in Italy, Serbia and Estonia but declining in Croatia and Greece. These findings demonstrate that improvements in aggregate road safety performance do not necessarily translate into equivalent improvements for all road user groups, highlighting the need for targeted, risk-based interventions. Building on the longitudinal and multidimensional assessment, the paper proposes an exploratory four-tier benchmarking framework, ranging from emerging to leading performance, based on comparative fatality outcomes and vehicle-, infrastructure- and exposure-related indicators across the 2018–2023 period. The framework is not intended to establish an absolute ranking of countries, but rather to facilitate structured peer comparison, knowledge exchange and the prioritisation of evidence-based interventions and infrastructure investments. The paper demonstrates the value of harmonised international road safety indicators as a strategic evidence base for assessing road safety performance, supporting infrastructure-readiness assessments and informing risk-based investment decisions. Ultimately, the findings highlight the importance of tailored, data-driven and system-based approaches to road safety and demonstrate how internationally comparable datasets can support progress towards Vision Zero and the objectives of the EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021–2030.