Statistics on road traffic accidents exist and are available in a number of databases. However, very few databases provided statistical information on road traffic accidents involving non-residents for each of the 27 Member States, let alone Visiting Victims47.
The main database used in determining the number of road accidents concerned by this study is the CARE database. To complete data sets obtained through CARE, guarantee funds and compensation bodies have been specifically contacted in order to obtain statistics on the number of Visiting Victims who have sustained an accident caused by a
46 Full Compensation Of Victims Of Cross-Border Road Traffic Accidents In The Eu: The Economic
Impact Of Selected Options, Andrea Renda and Lorna Schrefler, Centre for European Policy Studies,
Brussels, study requested by The European Parliament's Committee on Legal Affairs, 2007.
47 See Commission Staff Working Document addressed to the European Parliament and to the Council on certain issues relating to Motor Insurance, SEC(2005)1777, 19.12.2005.
Page 38 of 344 non-insured or unidentified person. All EU insurance companies have been contacted and information was provided for a very limited number of countries.
The information gathered using the CARE database and other data sets indicates that, in the Member States for which information was available, the number of road accidents involving non-residents is not insignificant. However, it is important to note that non- residents involved in road traffic accidents generally fall into one of three very different profiles. The first main profile concerns tourists involved in road traffic accidents. The second main profile concerns cross-border commuters involved in road traffic accidents. The third profile relates to cross-border workers. The distinction between these profiles is important.
Firstly, the propensity of each type of profile to be implicated in road accidents may vary. They may behave differently. It can be assumed that the cross-border commuter will be more familiar with the foreign roads used than the tourist. It can also be assumed that tourists may have higher chances of being involved in car accidents than cross-border commuters, given their unfamiliarity with foreign roads but since they use foreign roads (the roads used as a tourist) less often than the cross-border commuters, the chances of cross-border commuters being in a road traffic accident are higher. Similarly, the cross- border worker is exposed to the risk of a road accident more often than the occasional tourist. However, the cross-border commuter will often know the local language, which can be important when driving.
Secondly, the impact of the road traffic accident will be different depending on the profile. The cross-border worker may be covered by labour insurance policies and any compensation will be linked to work accident regulations. Cross-border commuters may be specially insured, either by their employer or by special regional insurance schemes48. The
cross-border commuter may not only understand the language of the foreign country but also have some knowledge of his or her rights and the local regulations. Further, cross- border commuters usually commute to neighbouring countries where legal systems are similar to their own, including levels of compensation. Tourism between neighbouring countries will benefit from this too. The statistics presented under this study show that a significant percentage of road traffic accidents in Luxembourg, that is around fifty percent of all accidents, implicate a non-resident. The statistics also show that most of
48http://gcportal.guycarp.com/portal/extranet/popup/pdf_2007/GCPub/Casualty%20Specialty%20U
Page 39 of 344 the non-residents implicated in road accidents in Luxembourg are from France or Belgium, countries that have very similar compensation systems to that of Luxembourg. The shock of the accident may be different for a tourist than it is for a cross-border commuter or driver. Tourists are often far away from home, and the likelihood of children being involved in accidents involving tourists is also greater.
As a result, although the number of road accidents involving non-residents is not insignificant, the profile of these visitors will determine first, their propensity to be implicated in a road accident and second, how the accident will affect them and whether the compensation issues raised fall within the scope of this Study.
The statistics do not distinguish between these profiles, and statistics that exist on tourism do not distinguish between the different types of tourists (those that hire cars, coach passengers, etc).
Further, the information collected does not indicate whether non-residents involved in road accidents are generally more at fault than local residents. Studies suggest that foreign drivers tend to be more at fault proportionally49. A number of factors can be seen
to support this. There is for example the lack of familiarity with local road infrastructure, difficulties with the language, and greater carelessness in driving because of the belief that one can escape sanctions. However, no precise statistics on the subject have been found.
It should be noted that the absence of comprehensive and comparable data and cautions makes it difficult to generalize about the findings.
The Graph below was prepared using the CARE database and other data sets from insurance companies and road safety organizations in various Member States.
The Graph below presents the percentage of visiting persons involved in road traffic accidents over one year and where the injuries were serious (including death) taking into account a number of parameters and regressions.
49 E. Petridou, N. Dessypris, A. Sklalkidou, D. Trichopoulos. (1999). Are traffic injuries disproportionally more common among tourists in Greece? Struggling with incomplete data. Accident Analysis and Prevention, Vol 31 (6), pp. 611-15.
Page 40 of 344 Graph 6
X-axis = percentage
Sources : Combined using CARE provided through CETE-SO-France, Road and Safety organizations, Insurance for 2006,
These statistics show that around 7 percent of all road traffic accidents causing serious injuries in the EU involve visiting parties.
Interestingly these results are very different than that reported in the 2007 study commissioned by the European Parliament50. The authors of that study state that for
Germany in 2004 up to 2 percent of road traffic accidents involved a cross-border dimension. The information provided in the graph above pushes that number to 9 percent
50 Full Compensation Of Victims Of Cross-Border Road Traffic Accidents In The Eu: The Economic
Impact Of Selected Options, Andrea Renda and Lorna Schrefler, Centre for European Policy Studies,
Brussels, study requested by The European Parliament's Committee on Legal Affairs, 2007 at page 15.
Page 41 of 344 for 2006. This seems an unlikely increase in such a short time even if the entry of new Member States may have led to more cross-border traffic.
Interviews conducted also show that over the last few years there has been an increased number of claims from Visiting Victims.
Graph 7
Source: Interviews
This suggests that the percentage of road traffic accidents involving foreign parties is not static and that it is set to increase in the years to come.