ROAD SAFETY REPORT 2021 | SWEDEN

SWEDEN1

ROAD SAFETY REPORT 2021 | SWEDEN

SWEDEN
Sweden recorded 204 road fatalities in 2020, a 7.7% decrease on 2019 and the lowest
total since 2000. It is difficult to estimate the magnitude of the impact of the Covid-19
pandemic on road safety performance in 2020. The assessment is that the pandemic
reduced the outcome of the number of deaths and serious injuries in 2020, but it did nothave a dramatic impact. The basis of Swedish road safety work is Vision Zero. The Swedish
government set new targets for 2030, including a 50% reduction in fatalities and a 25%
reduction in serious injuries based on the average for 2017-19. The Road Safety Strategy
2021-2030 is still under development. The action plan 2022-2025 will be published in April
2022 and will include 111 measures designed to increase road traffic safety.

Road safety management and strategy
The number of road fatalities reached apeak in 1965 and 1966, at 1 313 roaddeaths each year. Since then, roaddeaths have decreased by about 85%.
This overall positive trend can be partly
explained by gradual improvements ininfrastructure, the safety of the vehicle
fleet, an increased focus on injury
prevention and reduced speeds. The
safety performance indicators forvehicles and national roads are
improving, and road design has longembraced more excellent safety.

Sweden: Quick facts
Population: 10.3 million
GDP per capita: USD 52 056
Road network: 140 800 km (2018)•urban roads: 30%•

rural roads: 69%•

motorways: 1%

Registered motor vehicles: 6.5 million•

cars: 77%•

goods vehicles: 11%•

motorcycles: 5%

Speed limits:•urban roads: 30-50 km/h

Responsibility for road safety in Sweden•
rural roads: 60-100 km/h
lies
with
severalagencies.
•
motorways: 110 or 120 km/h
Transportstyrelsen,
theSwedishLimits on Blood Alcohol Content: 0.2 g/l
Transport
Agency,hasoverall
Road fatalities: 204
responsibility
fordrawingup•pedestrians: 12%
regulations
andensuringthat•
cyclists: 9%
authorities, companies, organisations•
car occupants: 52%
and citizens comply. Trafikverket, theSwedish Transport Administration, is•
motorcyclists: 15%
responsible for the long-term planning•
other: 11%of the transport system for all types ofRoad fatalities per 100 000 population: 2.0
traffic and building, operating andRoad fatalities per 10 000 vehicles: 0.3
maintaining public roads and railways.
Cost of road crashes: 2.6% of GDP (2017)
The Swedish Transport Administration
All data 2020 unless otherwise stated.
is also responsible for administering thetheoretical and practical driving tests
needed to obtain a driving licence for both professional and private drivers. Trafikanalys,
Transport Analysis, reviews the basis for decisions, assesses measures and generates
statistics.

2

ROAD SAFETY REPORT 2021 | SWEDEN

Sweden is divided into 290 municipalities and 20 county councils. These municipalities andcounties hold responsibility for local road safety. The local government is well established
in Sweden. The country’s cities, county councils and regions provide a significant proportionof all public services, including road safety. They have a considerable degree of autonomy
and independent powers of taxation. Local self-government and the right to levy taxes are
stipulated in the Instrument of Government, one of the four pillars of the Swedish
Constitution.
The basis of Swedish road safety work is Vision Zero, a strategic approach towards a safe
system whereby no one is at risk of being fatally or severely injured while using the roadtransport system. There is no specific safety plan in a traditional sense. Road safety work
has been carried out systematically using the management by objectives model. This model
involved measuring and following up a series of current conditions in the road transportsystem, which have a verified relationship with the trend in road fatalities and seriously
injured. These conditions are measured using road safety performance indicators (SPIs).
Interim targets have been set for road fatalities, seriously injured and SPIs. The actual
number of deaths and seriously injured indicators are followed up and analysed every year.
The analysis of the road safety performance is presented at annual conferences attended
by various stakeholders. The purpose of the management by objectives model is to apply
a long-term, systematic approach to road safety work.
During 2015 and 2016, the Ministry of Enterprise relaunched Vision Zero. An extensive
review of traffic safety work was undertaken in collaboration with relevant parties. In
particular, three new assignments were presented. The Swedish Transport Administration
was tasked to lead the national partnership for increased traffic safety. Since 2017, results
have been reported annually each May. An investigation into a new default speed limit of
40 km/h in urban areas was undertaken by Trafikanalys, with results presented in October
2017. Trafikanalys was also assigned to investigate traffic safety goals and performanceindicators post-2020.
The interim targets for 2020 were adopted by the Swedish Parliament in 2009 and specified
that the number of road fatalities should be halved between 2007 and 2020, whichtranslates to a maximum of 220 road deaths in 2020. The number of people seriously
injured on the road would be reduced by a quarter over the same period. In addition to
the national targets, there is an interim target at the EU level for halving the number ofroad deaths between 2010 and 2020, corresponding to a more stringent interim target ofa maximum of 133 road deaths in 2020. The national target to halve the number of road
fatalities until 2020 has been reached.
The Swedish Government set a new interim target for 2030 of reducing fatalities by 50%
between 2020 and 2030 (based on the average number of deaths for 2017-19), whichcorresponds to a maximum of 133 road deaths in 2030. It also set a target to reduce thenumber of people seriously injured by 25% during the same period, which corresponds toa maximum of 3 100 seriously injured. There are two further targets, one on suicide
prevention and one on pedestrian fall accidents, agreed upon by the Group for National
Vision Zero Cooperation - Roads (GNS Väg). GNS Väg is an arena for exchanging
knowledge and co-ordination of activities within road safety between essential players torealise Vision Zero.
As part of its assignment to lead overall collaboration in road safety work for road traffic,
the Swedish Transport Administration has produced an action plan for safe road traffic for2022-25. The plan includes 111 measures that 14 authorities and stakeholders have theambition of implementing.

3

ROAD SAFETY REPORT 2021 | SWEDEN

Latest road safety measures
The renewed commitment to Vision Zero, presented in 2016, aims to intensify transport
safety work in Sweden due to the stagnation in road casualties since 2010. Future safety
work should consider vulnerable road users, with infrastructure design and maintenancetailored to their needs.
The Swedish government presented a national strategy for cycling in April 2017 that is
intended to function as a platform for future safety work. Five areas of action werehighlighted: greater priority for cyclists in social planning, focus on different groups ofcyclists, promotion of a more functional and user-friendly infrastructure and promotion ofa safer environment for cyclists.
The Swedish Transport Administration has a mission to investigate how to make ISO 39001
Road Traffic Safety Management Systems more efficient and widespread.
A Vision Zero training in e-learning format has been developed. Targeted toward a
professional audience working in the sphere of road transport systems, the training seeks
to spread knowledge about Vision Zero, its safety philosophy, and the principles that apply
to designing a safe road transport system. It is not currently available in English but canbe accessed in Swedish here: www.trafikverket.se/tjanster/Utbildningar/nollvisionen-forvagtrafik---webbutbildning/.
The introduction of advanced driver assistance systems has been rapid in Sweden. In 2019,the share of new cars in Sweden with auto-brake at low speeds was 85%, lane departure
warning systems 63% and auto-brake for vulnerable road users 74%.
Anti-lock Braking Systems (ABS) development as standard equipment on motorcycles has
moved quickly. ABS has become a standard piece of equipment on most major motorcycle
models over the last three years, from being standard with only one manufacturer and an
expensive option with the others. Moreover, since 2016-17 the EU has mandated ABS for
new motorcycles with an engine displacement greater than 125 cc. The percentage ofmotorcycles by traffic volume fitted with ABS increased from 9% in 2007 to 55% in 2017.
A new Infrastructure Plan 2018-2029 has been published and can be accessed here:
http://trafikverket.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1363916/FULLTEXT01.pdf.

Costs of road crashes
Traffic crashes represent a high cost for society, estimated in 2017 at around EUR 13.4
billion (2.6% of GDP). The cost of road crashes was first evaluated in 1990 by the ASEKGroup based on a willingness-to-pay approach to assess the unit cost of a fatality, ahospitalised person, a slightly injured person and a property damage-only crash. Since
then, these unit costs have been regularly re-evaluated, considering the evolution of GDP
and the consumer price index (CPI). These costs are calculated using ASEK 7.0 and based

4

ROAD SAFETY REPORT 2021 | SWEDEN

on the official statistics for 2017, using police reported accidents (not corrected for underreporting).

Safety performance indicators
Speed
Inappropriate speed is one of the leading causes of road crashes. Improved speed
compliance, resulting in lower speed levels, is estimated to have the most significant
potential to reduce road fatalities. However, speed levels on Swedish roads haveremained unchanged since 2012 and have not significantly improved.
In 2020, the proportion of traffic adhering to the speed limit on state roads was only
49%, around the same level as when measurements started in 1996. The goal of 80%
compliance by 2020 was not reached.
It is essential to improve speed compliance via different monitoring forms in the shortterm. In 2020, around 2 200 speed camera units were used nationwide, with a target setof approximately 2 300 units. Speed cameras positively affect speed compliance, butroute coverage remains insufficient. Therefore, it is essential to increase police presence.
The fines issued for speeding through manual monitoring fell sharply between 2011 and2016 and flattened.
It is essential to ensure that existing road infrastructure appropriately matches posted
speed limits in the longer term. Starting in 2016 and 2017, the Swedish Transport
Administration initiated a major speed limit review to adapt speed limits to current roadsafety standards. For the period up to and including 2020, around 2 200 kilometres of
90 km/h roads will be lowered to 80 km/h, while just over 400 kilometres of 90 km/h
roads will have a median barrier installed and the speed limit increased to 100 km/h. So
far, around 450 of the 2 200 kilometres have had speed limits reduced, while 270
kilometres have been separated. It is crucial that adapting speed limits continues
according to existing plans and that road safety infrastructure of this type is intensified.
Drink-driving
Driving under the influence of alcohol is another major cause of road crashes in Sweden,
as in most IRTAD countries. In 2020, 53 people died in alcohol or drug-related crashes(28% of all road fatalities) compared with 53 people (23%) in 2019.
In Sweden, a crash is defined as alcohol related if a BAC level of above 0.2 g/l can beproven in the driver, rider, pedestrian or cyclist involved.
Enforcement against drink driving is becoming a challenge, as only a tiny proportion of
the driving population is under the influence of alcohol. In 2019, only 0.25% of all drivers

5

ROAD SAFETY REPORT 2021 | SWEDEN

in random tests were above the legal limit. The goal is that, by 2020, at least 99.9% of
drivers operate under the legal BAC limit of 0.2 g/l. Police spot checks, which havedecreased in number, represent an essential measure for improving this indicator. Quickand reliable breath tests also play a crucial role in future efforts to prevent drink driving.
New technology has great potential to combat drink driving in the long term. So-called“Alco-Gates” (gates equipped with a breathalyser test) automate part of the sobriety
check systems at ports, and the government is currently considering installing theequipment in three to five additional ports. Nonetheless, in the short-term, police
surveillance plays an integral part in reducing drink driving and improving measures in
reducing reoffending.
Drugs and driving
Drug usage and driving are other worrying causes of crashes in Sweden. A drug-related
crash is defined as any crash where one of the persons involved has any trace of anillegal drug in the body. In 2020, 17 fatalities (or 8% of all traffic fatalities) involved adriver under the influence of illegal drugs, with amphetamines being the substance mostcommonly found. There is some overlap with alcohol-related fatalities where a driver had
been under the influence of both alcohol and drugs.
It is forbidden to drive a motor vehicle under the influence of illegal drugs. A driver undersuspicion of driving after taking illegal drugs must leave a sample of blood or saliva to
be analysed. It is up to the driver to decide whether to drive when using medication. If
the medication has a negative effect on driving, the person is not allowed to drive.
Use of mobile phones while driving
The Swedish Road Traffic Ordinance requires drivers to pay sufficient attention to driving.
To avoid crashes, road users shall “observe the care and attention that the circumstancesdemand”. However, starting in 2013, the government strengthened this by-law,forbidding the use of communications devices when driving if “the use influences thedriving unfavourably”. In 2015, the government decided to assess the safety effect of
the new bylaw. The Swedish Transport Agency carried out an evaluation. The result
showed a need for further research and investment in technological developments that
discourage the use of handheld phones while driving. In 2018, handheld mobile phone
use while driving was prohibited.
Seat belt and helmet use
Seat belt wearing has been compulsory in Sweden since 1975 in front seats and since1986 for rear seats. It has been mandatory for children under 135 cm to use a child
restraint system since 1988. The medical recommendation is that a booster seat orsimilar device must be used for up to 12.

6

ROAD SAFETY REPORT 2021 | SWEDEN

There has been a long-term upward trend in the use of seat belts. This trend will likely
continue due to the increasing percentage of cars with seat-belt reminders or warning
functions. Driver’s use of seat belts in passenger cars was recorded at 97.6% during2020. The proportion of passenger car drivers killed who were unrestrained has
decreased since 2001 and stood at 32% in 2020. Children have always had a much higher
seat belt wearing rate than adults in rear seats. In 2020, 96.8% of children and 86.2%
of adults in the rear seats wore seat belts.

Road safety data for Sweden at a glanceLong-term road safety trends for Sweden

Reported safety data
Fatalities

1990

2000

2010

2018

2019

2020

2019

2020 % change over
2010
2000
1990

772

591

266

324

221

204

-7.7

-23.3

-65.5

-73.6

Injury crashes

16 97515 77016 49914 23313 68412 217

-10.7

-26.0

-22.5

-28.0

Injured persons hospitalised

17 18010 897

7 701

..

..

..

..

..

..

..

9.1

6.7

2.8

3.2

2.2

2.0

-8.6

-30.6

-70.4

-78.2

1.7

1.2

0.5

0.5

0.3

0.3

-9.0

-32.8

-74.1

-81.7

12.0

8.5

3.5

3.8

2.6

2.6

-0.6

-24.3

-69.2

-78.1

Pedestrians

134

73

31

34

27

25

-7.4

-19.4

-65.8

-81.3

Cyclists

68

47

21

23

17

18

5.9

-14.3

-61.7

-73.5

Moped riders

22

10

8

7

4

2

-50.0

-75.0

-80.0

-90.9

Motorcyclists

46

39

37

47

31

30

-3.2

-18.9

-23.1

-34.8

Passenger car occupants

468

393

151

181

103

106

2.9

-29.8

-73.0

-77.4

Other road users

34

29

18

32

39

23

-41.0

27.8

-20.7

-32.4

0-14 years

35

19

10

7

4

7

75.0

-30.0

-63.2

-80.0

15-17 years

34

16

9

9

5

8

60.0

-11.1

-50.0

-76.5

18-20 years

88

52

20

13

7

13

85.7

-35.0

-75.0

-85.2

Deaths per 100 000 population
Deaths per 10 000 registeredvehiclesDeaths per billion vehicle
kilometres
Fatalities by road user

Fatalities by age group21-24 years

66

50

26

17

12

17

41.7

-34.6

-66.0

-74.2

25-64 years

357

300

137

158

118

91

-22.9

-33.6

-69.7

-74.5

65-74 years

..

50

28

47

35

26

-25.7

-7.1

-48.0

..

≥ 75 years

..

104

36

73

40

42

5.0

16.7

-59.6

..

Urban roads

218

162

67

77

49

60

22.4

-10.4

-63.0

-72.5

Rural roads

484

404

167

212

142

121

-14.8

-27.5

-70.0

-75.0

Motorw ays

70

25

23

24

20

13

-35.0

-43.5

-48.0

-81.4

64 31069 26776 73184 43383 72377 737

-7.1

1.3

12.2

20.9

4 461

4 842

5 654

6 331

6 364

6 454

1.4

14.1

33.3

44.7

523.2

546.4

605.3

625.6

622.1

624.9

0.5

3.2

14.4

19.4

Fatalities by road type

Traffic data
Vehicle kilometres (millions)Registered vehicles(thousands)
Registered vehicles per 1 000
population

7

ROAD SAFETY REPORT 2021 | SWEDEN

Evolution of road fatalities, injury crashes, motorisation, traffic and GDP in
Sweden, 2000-20
Index 2000 = 100

Road fatalities per 100 000 inhabitants in Sweden in comparison with IRTAD
countries, 2020

8

ROAD SAFETY REPORT 2021 | SWEDEN

Road fatalities per 10 000 vehicles in Sweden in comparison with IRTAD
countries, 2020

Note: in Belgium, Denmark, Germany and Hungary registered vehicles do not include
mopeds.

9

ROAD SAFETY REPORT 2021 | SWEDEN

Road fatalities per billion vehicle-kilometres in Sweden in comparison with
IRTAD countries, 2019

Evolution of road fatalities in Sweden by user category, age group and roadtype, 2010-20

10ROAD SAFETY REPORT 2021 | SWEDEN

Road fatalities in Sweden by user category, 2020

Road fatalities in Sweden by road type, 2020

11

ROAD SAFETY REPORT 2021 | SWEDEN

Road fatality rate in Sweden by user category and age group, 2020
Rate per 100 000 population in the same age group

Cost of road crashes in Sweden, 2017
Total (EUR)
Fatalities

1.32 billion

Other reported injuries

12.07 billion

Total

13.39 billion

Total as % of GDP

2.6

Seat belt and helmet wearing rates
Percentages
2000

2014

2016

2020

Driver

90

98

98

98

Passenger

92

96

96

98

Adults

72

81

90

86

Children

89

95

94

97

..

96

95

98

Front seats

Rear seats

HelmetMoped riders

12

ROAD SAFETY REPORT 2021 | SWEDEN

Research and resources
Publications
Amin, K. et al. (2021), Analysis of Road Safety Trends 2020. Management by objectives
for road safety work towards the 2020 interim targets, Swedish Transport Administration,
Publication No. 2021:173.
Amin, K., Skyving, M., Bonander, C. et al. (2022), Fall- and collision-related injuries among
pedestrians in road traffic environment – A Swedish national register-based study, Journalof Safety Research, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2022.02.007.
Elmrud, R. (2020), Sickness absence, disability pension, and permanent medical
impairment
among
car
occupants
injuredinacrash,
Doctoralthesis,https://openarchive.ki.se/xmlui/handle/10616/47016.
Francis, F., Moshiro, C., Yngve, B.H. and Hasselberg, M. (2021), Investigation of roadinfrastructure and traffic density attributes at high-risk locations for motorcycle-related
injuries using multiple correspondence and cluster analysis in urban Tanzania,
International
Journalof
InjuryControlandSafetyPromotion,
DOI:
10.1080/17457300.2021.1930060.
Kaye, S-A. et al. (2020), A priori acceptance of highly automated cars in Australia, France,
and Sweden: A theoretically-informed investigation guided by the TPB and UTAUT, Accident
Analysis and Prevention, Vol 147.
Leon-Domínguez, U. et al. (2020), A Frontal Neuropsychological Profile in Fitness to Drive,
Accident Analysis and Prevention 2020, Vol 148.
Skyving, M., Forsman, Å., Dukic Willstrand, T., Laflamme, J., Moller, J. (2021), Medical
impairment and road traffic crashes among older drivers in Sweden – A national,
population-based, case-control study, Accident Analysis & Prevention, Volume 163.
Stigson, H., Boström M. and A. Kullgren (2020), Health status and quality of life amongroad users with permanent medical impairment several years after the crash, Traffic Injury
Prevention, www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15389588.2020.1817416.
Vadeby, A. (2022), Speed Cameras in Sweden. Effects on Speed and Traffic Safety, VTI
Report 1107.
Websites
2019-2022 Infrastructure Maintenance Plan: https://trafikverket.ineko.se/Files/enUS/61006/Ineko.Product.RelatedFiles/2019_066_undehallsplan_2019_2022.pdf.

13

ROAD SAFETY REPORT 2021 | SWEDEN

RenewedCommitment
to
VisionZero:
https://www.government.se/4a800b/contentassets/b38a99b2571e4116b81d6a5eb2aea7
1e/trafiksakerhet_160927_webny.pdf.
Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, VTI: www.vti.se.
Swedish Transport Administration: https://trafikverket.ineko.se/se/.
Swedish Transport Agency: https://transportstyrelsen.se/en/road/.
Transport Analysis: www.trafa.se/en/.
Vision Zero Training Academy: www.trafikverket.se/en/startpage/operations/Operationsroad/vision-zero-academy/.

Definition, methodology, data collection
A road fatality is defined as any person killed in a traffic crash or who dies within 30 days
due to injuries sustained in the crash. Suicides have been excluded from official statistics
since 2010.
A slightly injured person is described as someone slightly injured in road traffic crashes
reported by the police.
For serious injuries, two definitions are used. For generating official statistics, road traffic
accidents with fatal and severe personal injuries reported by the police are used. For
preventive road safety work, the definition of serious injury is based on health loss
following a traffic injury. If the individual does not recover after a specific time, they aredefined as seriously injured. The risk of permanent medical impairment (RPMI) can becalculated and used in preventive road safety work.
Medical impairment is a concept for evaluating various functional impairments, regardlessof the reason. The disability scale is based on functional impairment; for example, total
paralysis is regarded as 100% impairment, the loss of one hand as 50- 65% and the lossof the outer joint of the ring finger as 2%. Today, the medical impairment cut-off for a
person to be defined as seriously injured is 1%, but discussions are ongoing regarding
adding a complementary category of 10% or higher.
Therefore, Sweden does not use a score of three or more on the Maximum AbbreviatedInjury Scale (MAIS3+) as a standard measure of a seriously injured person. MAIS3+ isused to calculate the number of persons seriously injured and is, therefore, an essential
part of the Swedish efforts to increase road safety.
Sweden’s safety data system integrates police and health data. This system, called
Swedish Traffic Accident Data Acquisition (STRADA), is composed of two parts: STRADA
police, based on crash reports by the police, which include detailed information on

14

ROAD SAFETY REPORT 2021 | SWEDEN

crashes; and STRADA hospital, based on medical information including information on
the crash from the patient.
The system is based on a systematic link between police and health data and allows
accurate information on the severity and consequences of crashes to be obtained.
STRADA, however, only provides data on seriously injured people and acquires medical
information about injured persons visiting the emergency department of a hospitalfollowing a crash. The number of people less seriously injured is likely to beunderreported. For example, people suffering from a minor injury requiring only primarycare, without being further directed to a hospital, are not recorded in STRADA. However,slightly injured persons known to the police are reported in STRADA.
There is a proposal that emergency hospitals be obliged by law to report to STRADA.
Today, however, reporting to STRADA is based on patient consent.

15