36 die on Polish roads over May Day holidays
PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge
05.05.2014 08:50
Thirty six died as a result of accidents on Polish roads over the extended May holiday from Wednesday to Sunday, with less accidents but more deaths than at the same time last year.
Accident on the S8 road near Kowiesy, central Poland. Three prople died in the pile-up. Photo: PAP/Grzegorz Michalowski
There were 369 accidents and 457 people sustained injuries, while 1539 drivers were arrested for drink-driving.
In 2013 there were 325 accidents over the five-day break, but three more fatalities than this year.
Police spokesperson Iwona Kuc told the Polish Press Agency that typical causes for accidents continue to be speeding, failure to give way, errors in overtaking and driving under the influence of alcohol.
Cyclist deaths rise
Meanwhile, statistics released by Poland's police force have revealed that although the annual number of accidents is falling (there were about 36,000 in 2013 compared with over 40,000 in 2011), this is not the case with crashes involving cyclists.
In 2013 there were 4723 road accidents that involved cyclists (70 more than in 2011), yet in 64 percent of cases the cyclists themselves were not at fault.
A report released by the European Commission in March found that Poland has the second deadliest roads throughout the EU, and only Romania had a higher proportion of fatalities in 2013. (nh)
Source: PAP/Metro