Vehicle crash rate steady, fatalities drop

Georgian roads are continuing to be a death trap for many motorists however fewer people are dying on Georgian roads.

Each year the number of car accidents remained steady but latest figures revealed there were fewer fatal accidents in the first six months of this year than in 2013.

Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs released latest crash statistics, which revealed there were 2557 vehicle accidents on Georgian roads in the first half of the year, in which 180 people died and more than 3500 others were injured.

Graphic showing vehicle accident rates in Georgia. Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs

The figures, recorded from January to July this year by the Police Department of Georgia and Regional Offices of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, noted the total crash rate was similar to the 2553 accidents recorded in 2013 however this year the fatality rate had declined.

In the first half of 2013, 240 people died in car accidents while in 2014, this figure dropped to 180 – a decrease of 60 fatalities.

This year, 1246 road accidents occurred in Tbilisi – the highest number of the whole country. The most fatal accidents occurred in the capital city too. This year 46 people died on Tbilisi roads while at the other end of the scale, two people died in accidents in Guria region in western Georgia.

Meanwhile 3635 people were injured in car accidents in the first half of this year. Most were injured in Tbilisi (1609) and the least were injured in Guria (24).

Over the past eight years the crash rate has dropped, with 500 fewer crashes in 2014 than in 2008, a declined injury rate (573 fewer injuries) and 210 less fatalities.