The authority highlights that "Portugal has the highest urban mortality profile in the European Union."

Dichotomous evolution

In a study on "the evolution of accidents and comparative analyses," which Lusa had access to, the ANSR indicates that the period between 2022 and 2025 (post-pandemic) reveals "a dichotomous evolution between inside and outside the town," while outside towns "a consistent reduction in mortality is maintained (-17.8% 24 hours after the accident and -15.8% 30 days after the accident), inside towns there is a reversal of the trend, with increases of 8% and 5.9%, respectively."

According to the ANSR, both contexts register a significant increase in serious injuries.

Urban areas

The study also reports that within urban areas, for every 100 deaths in the first 24 hours, there are 45 more deaths within 30 days, while outside urban areas this number is only 18, "suggesting that urban accidents, although initially less fatal, often result in victims who end up dying in the following weeks."

"In urban areas, the difference between deaths in 24 hours and 30 days is substantially greater than that observed outside urban areas, suggesting a greater relative weight of serious injuries whose fatal outcome occurs after the initial moment of the accident," the document emphasizes, considering that "this evidence points to the need to strengthen intervention in urban environments, with special attention to speed, the protection of vulnerable users, and conflicts between different modes of transportation."

The report reveals that "Portugal has the highest urban mortality profile in the EU," specifying that 55% of deaths occur in urban areas compared to 39% on average in Europe and only 27% in Spain.

Priority for intervention

“This pattern points to distinct problems: in Portugal, the priority for intervention is in cities (speed moderation, pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, conflicts between PTW [Two-Wheeled Motor Vehicles, such as motorcycles and scooters] and urban traffic); in Spain, the priority is on interurban roads and highways, where almost three-quarters of deaths occur,” the document indicates.

According to the report, Portuguese highways “are relatively safe,” with “the problem concentrated on urban and rural roads,” since the proportion of highways in the total network is even higher (21.7% of the total network), but the share of deaths on highways is only 8%.

The ANSR also states that Portugal reveals “a more serious problem of declared speeding in urban areas than Spain (65.2% versus 48.4%), consistent with the predominantly urban mortality profile”.

Clear seasonal concentration

The report also identifies a clear seasonal concentration of severity in the third quarter of the year, accounting for more than 30% of fatalities and serious injuries, although it does not account for an equivalent proportion of total accidents, suggesting an intensification of risk during the summer period.

The international comparison, according to the study, reveals that “Portugal has improved very significantly in the last two decades, reducing the road mortality rate per million inhabitants from 118.8 in 2005 to 58.1 in 2024”, but this evolution “was not enough to ensure convergence with the safest European countries”.

In 2024, Portugal remained above the European Union average (45) and well above Spain (36.7), a country with which it shares geographical and cultural proximity and comparable mobility patterns, the document reads.