Lockdown led to drop in road accidents, EU body finds

The public lockdown put into place by Greek authorities to curb the spread of the coronavirus contributed to a reduction in the number of road accidents, according to the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), which found that accidents were down 59 percent in Greece in April, the peak of the lockdown, compared to the same month last year. 

The drop was sharper in other countries where the lockdown was more stringent due to a higher number of cases, with Italy seeing the biggest reduction (84 percent), followed by Belgium, Spain and France. 

According to the ETSC, Greece is one of the European Union countries to have made the most progress in reducing fatalities on its roads over the past decade. Its statistics rank it second in the 27-state bloc, with roads deaths down 44.4 percent between 2010 and 2019. Norway is in first place, having reduced fatalities by 48.6 percent over the same period.