20 Minutes.
In 2016, the number dying on Swiss roads dropped 15% compared with 2015. 216 people died, 37 less than the year before (-15%). While there were fewer car, motorcycle and pedestrian accident victims, the number of seriously injured cyclists climbed.
© Wessel Du Plooy | Dreamstime.com
Since records began in 1940, only 1945, when 211 died, has seen fewer road deaths than 2016. According to recent statistics from the Swiss Federal Roads Office, the worst year on record is 1971 when 1,773 died on the roads. The number in 2016 is only 12% of this figure.
2016 was a better year for motorcyclists. 24 died compared to 43 in 2015. Car deaths remained the same at 75. 50 pedestrians, died in 2016, 14% fewer than in 2015.
While, the number of cycle related deaths (43) dropped by one, the number seriously injured climbed from 838 to 854. In Zurich the number of cycling accidents in 2016 reached 460, an increase of 42% compared to the five year average. According to Road Cross, cyclists were at fault in two thirds of accidents. Cyclists running red lights are common.
The Swiss Federal Roads Office attributes the rise in cycling accidents in the last two years to the rising popularity of electric bikes. Some of these bikes, equipped with pedals and electric motors, can reach speeds of 45 km/h. While deaths involving electric bikes fell from 14 (2015) to 9 (2016), the number of serious accidents climbed 23% in 2016.
More on this:
20 Minutes article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
Fewer deaths and serious injuries on the roads in 2016 (Federal Roads Office) – in French
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Lynx says
Cyclists are treated as pedestrians not users of a vehicle. They can go the wrong way down one-way streets. Soon, in Bern, they can turn right at red lights. Rarely do they follow the rules of the road and the police don’t enforce the rules because there is a lack of manpower. There are so many unemployed either on RAV or getting social money. Why not create a cyclist control team, dedicated to forcing these macho manaces to follow the rules?