In 2023 there were 46 victims of road accidents in Milan. The number could be higher, because unfortunately some people remain hospitalized for months in very serious conditions, and in the end do not survive. There were 78 injured people treated with a reserved prognosis.
Statistics show that in the long term (starting from 2012) total accidents have decreased, and in 2023 they were 10,580, a number similar to that of 2022 and lower than the over 12,000 in the pre-pandemic period. The death data, in addition to revealing how many families experience the human drama of a loss, however has a further critical point: the increasing trend.
Congestion
The 46 deaths in 2023 are more than the 44 in 2022 and the 32 in 2021, but they are also many more than the 33 in 2019. From 2013 to today, road deaths have never been more than 50 in a year, also considering the 42 in 2014 and the 33 in 2013. The scenario therefore no longer allows us to talk about a decreasing trend and, despite the reduction in traffic during the Covid years, the victims are constantly increasing. «There is a direct relationship between the number of cars on the road and accidents, we need to take note of it and act accordingly”, reflects Enrico Fedrighini, municipal councilor of the mixed group that has been dealing with the environment and road safety for years. «We would have two great levers to reduce the number of cars in circulation, Area B and Area C. Today, however, they have high social costs and inadequate effectiveness with respect to the primary objective of reducing traffic. Anyone can check the conditions of the major access roads to Milan, already saturated at 7 in the morning, before the cameras in Area B “turn on”.
An increasingly critical aspect of circulation concerns pedestrians and cyclists. In 2023, 1,140 people were injured in road accidents while cycling, just over 3 per day. Excluding 2021 and 2022 (over 1,250 injured), this is the worst figure since 2014 onwards. In the same decade, there were around 2,000 fewer people injured in cars (7,300 in 2023). «We have been campaigning for years for abandoning cars – continues the councilor – and this change in habits should be supported, respected and encouraged. To do it, there is a single road: reducing congestion and freeing up urban space, which means reducing accidents and freeing up reserved lanes for public transport, which will have more efficiency, with a series of knock-on effects. The Milanese are sensitive to alternative mobility, but we need to create space for them to do so safely and with efficient services.”
Scooters and pedestrians
«Alternative mobility» also means scootera medium that has been highly supported by companies and parts of politics, even if it has created controversies, particularly on security. Scooter accidents with injuries were 590 in 2023: just more than the 561 in 2022 and just under the 596 in 2021.
The Municipality has carried out a detailed analysis on the safety of those walking on the street, attached to the project to protect 40 kilometers of roads which will constitute the «Olympic itineraries» (one route from San Siro, to Santa Giulia). We read in the document: «With regards to injured pedestrians, the peak of accidents with injuries is concentrated during peak traffic hours. This data can therefore be related primarily to the number of vehicles in circulation and with the relative congestion of the road network (which is therefore added to the lower visibility of other vehicles, pedestrians, signs and a general increase in irregular manoeuvres/trajectories)”.
However, the most serious accidents for pedestrians occur close to rush hour (or at night): the peak of fatal accidents involving pedestrians «is concentrated in a different way, with a shift compared to the peak traffic hour, between 10 and 11 in the morning, and brought forward to 5 in the afternoon» . Explanation: with a lot of traffic, as soon as the roads are a little clearer the cars increase in speed and accidents are more dangerous.
