How Many Deaths?

Do you know how many people died in car crashes in Poland last year? Probably not—because the government doesn’t make it easy to find out. But thanks to fresh data from the European Commission, we’ve got the numbers—and they’re not pretty.

In 2024, 20,380 people lost their lives on EU roads, a slight 1.3% drop from the previous year. Poland, however, reported 52 road deaths per million inhabitants, placing it above the EU average of 46 per million. While this marks a significant improvement from 93 per million in 2012, Poland still lags behind countries like Sweden (20 per million) and Denmark (24 per million)

Polish drivers abroad

Poles have a notorious reputation on foreign roads. According to the Polish Motor Insurers’ Bureau (PBUK), in 2018, Poles caused over 75,000 accidents abroad—10,000 more than the previous year. That’s more than 11% of total accidents in the EU.

There has also been an increase in Polish drivers involved in accidents abroad who do not have car insurance. The number of such accidents has steadily increased over the last years from 365 in 2014 to 493 in 2018.

So what’s going on?

Some blame Poland’s outdated driving tests, which don’t include motorway training. Others point to the high speed limits—Poland’s 140 km/h motorway limit is the highest in the EU, second only to Germany’s unrestricted autobahns. While Poland has made strides in road safety, including a 47% reduction in road deaths between 2012 and 2022 , there’s still a long road ahead.

Let’s hope the numbers start to decline.