Which Swiss canton has the most dangerous roads?
By Jan de Boer
A new study from the Federal Statistical Office has revealed which Swiss cantons have the most dangerous roads. More than 22.000 people were victims of road accidents in Switzerland last year, with rural areas of the country seeing the most injuries per head of population.
22.000 people in road accidents in Switzerland in 2022
In 2022, 241 people lost their lives in road accidents in the alpine nation. They were joined by 22.000 people who were injured in road collisions - the majority of whom were the driver, followed by passengers (13 percent) and pedestrians (8,8 percent). 4.002 victims required serious medical treatment in hospital, a slight increase compared to 2021.
39 percent of the accidents took place on “secondary roads” - fast stretches of single-lane roads in the countryside - while just 9 percent of incidents occurred on the motorway. Most accidents involved cars, followed by motorcycles and electric bikes, with the majority of crashes being caused by inattentiveness and speed.
Uri found to have the most dangerous roads in Switzerland
While the Federal Roads Office have promised an investigation into why the number of accidents has risen again, the long-term trends are encouraging. The number of people killed on Swiss roads and motorways has fallen by 71 percent since 1992, while the number of injuries has declined by 23 percent.
In terms of accidents per head of population, Canton Uri has the most dangerous roads in Switzerland, with 40 accidents per 10.000 people in 2022. The FSO explained that this may be because of the number of passes through the mountains in the region and the fact that the two motorways to the immediate north of the Gotthard Road Tunnel converge in Uri.
Swiss cantons with the safest and most dangerous roads revealed
In all, here are the 10 cantons with the most dangerous roads (in accidents per 10,000 people):
- 1. Uri (40)
- 2. Lucerne (32)
- 3. Bern (29,6)
- 4. Solothurn (29,5)
- =5. Graubünden (29)
- =5. Glarus (29)
- 7. Obwalden (26,7)
- 8. Zurich (26,5)
- 9. Schaffhausen (26,3)
- 10. Jura (26)
In contrast, here are the 10 Swiss cantons with the least dangerous roads:
- Basel-Stadt (17,5)
- Basel-Land (18,4)
- Aargau (19,6)
- Appenzell Ausserrhoden (20)
- Valais (20,2)
- St. Gallen (22,3)
- Appenzell Innerrhoden (22,6)
- Nidwalden (22,7)
- Fribourg (23,1)
- Schwyz (23,3)
For more information, and to see how other cantons faired, check out the official website.
Thumb image credit: Shutterstock.com / Martin Lehmann
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Jan studied History at the University of York and Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sheffield. Though born in York, Jan has lived most of his life in Zurich and has worked as a journalist, writer and editor since 2016.
While he has plunged head-first back into life in Switzerland since returning to the country in 2020, he still enjoys a taste of home at pub quizzes and karaoke nights.Read more