“Among European countries we are one of those that have been improving road safety the most effectively in the last year, in the last few years. This is something to be proud of,” Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki stressed in Olecko.

Investments in road safety

Since 2015, we have been making investments to further improve the safety of all road users. We have introduced, among other things:

• The National Road Construction Programme - since 2015, we have commissioned 2,000 km of roads worth PLN 75 billion,
• Government Road Construction Fund - we subsidise 80 per cent of the construction, reconstruction and modernisation of local roads - the amount of funds allocated for this purpose is approximately PLN 13 billion.

“Today we are observing European Road Safety Day. I deliberately said 'we are observing’ and not 'we are celebrating', because we could only really celebrate if at least the most tragic road traffic accidents that end in death would be reduced to zero. As we know, this is not the case yet, although we can speak here of a significant improvement in road safety,” said the Prime Minister.

Effective fight against speeders

Excessive speed is still one of the main causes of dangerous accidents on Polish roads. This is also why we have introduced changes to the Traffic Code, such as:

• increased protection for pedestrians at crossings,
• harmonisation of the speed limit for vehicles in the built-up areas,
• introducing an obligation to maintain a safe distance between vehicles on motorways and expressways,
• an increase in fines and penalty points for the most serious offences.

Fewer accidents on Polish roads

The legal solutions are bearing fruit. We are leading the way in improving road safety in Europe. We have over 15,000 fewer injured persons in accidents per year. In 2015, it was as many as 40,000 injured persons, while in 2022, the number of injured persons fell to nearly 25,000. In addition, the number of victims on Polish roads has been falling. We reduced the number of fatal accidents on the roads - last year to 1,896, i.e. by more than a third. The number of accidents in general decreased from 32,967 in 2015 to 21,322 in 2022. In contrast, the number of pedestrians injured eight years ago was over 8,000, while last year it was 4,367. There has been a significant decrease in fatal accidents at pedestrian crossings to 460 last year, from 915 in 2015.

“This statistic probably does not say much – let us imagine that there are thousands of families in Poland, tens of thousands of families in Poland, who have not experienced a tragedy: the disability of a loved one or the death of a loved one,” stressed the head of the Polish government.

Redevelopment of five pedestrian crossings in Olecko

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki visited Olecko on European Road Safety Day, where five pedestrian crossings at Wolności Square were rebuilt thanks to the Government Road Construction Fund. The upgrade was completed in January 2023 at a total cost of PLN 313,912. The government subsidy was the greater part, as much as PLN 214,801.92. Investments under government programmes are possible thanks to the tightening of the state budget.

“Hundreds, thousands of roundabouts, pedestrian crossings - safe pedestrian crossings with speed bumps, such as in Olecko - traffic lights, all sorts of investments across the country that we are making. Multi-billion dollar investments to make roads safer. These are not just words. These are not just numbers. These are not just statistics. These are also our deeds, investments that turn into facts across the country, facts that protect people's lives. This did not come from nothing. It also came from huge investments, and these investments in turn came from a tightened budget,” stressed Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.