According to the annual report released by The National Road Safety Authority (ANSR), in 2020 there was a 14.4 percent reduction in road fuel consumption compared to 2019, corresponding to a variation in the same direction as the kilometres travelled.

The ANSR report, which for the first time includes the numbers of the Azores and Madeira in the annual data, indicates that in 2020 “there was a substantial reduction in the main road accident variables compared to the previous year”, with 9,526 fewer accidents being recorded, less 116 fatalities, 536 less serious injuries and 12,882 less minor injuries.

The Road Safety authority highlights that this positive evolution occurred both on the Continent and in the Autonomous Regions regarding the variations recorded by the different accident indicators.

Concerning mainland Portugal, ANSR states that there were 26,501 accidents with victims in 2020, resulting in 390 deaths occuring at the accident site or during transport to the health unit, 1,829 seriously injured and 30,706 minor injuries.
The report shows that last year there were the best results in all accident indicators since 2016.

However, these improvement data are not common in all districts of the country, with Viana do Castelo, Leiria, Lisbon and Santarém registering increases in fatalities in the annual accounting.

According to the same document, a collision was the nature of an accident that occurred most frequently in 2020, representing approximately half of the incidents with victims and those injured, but the highest number of fatalities occurred as a result of accidents.

In turn, the greatest reduction occurred in the main itineraries although the severity index still stood at 3.23 fatalities for every 100 accidents.

The document also indicates that 69.7 percent of the total fatalities were drivers, 14.6 percent passengers and 15.6 percent pedestrians, reporting that light vehicles are the most common vehicles in accidents.

Accidents involving mopeds and motorcycles decreased by 17.7 percent compared to 2019 and accidents involving bicycles decreased by 2.3 percent.