High death toll

More road deaths this year than last year

More people have already died on Austria's roads this year than in the entire previous year. E-scooters and e-bikes in particular are driving the statistics.(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

High death toll on Austria's roads: As the Austrian Road Safety Board (KFV) announced on Monday, there have already been more road deaths this year than in the entire previous year. Since the beginning of the year, 353 people have lost their lives, compared to "only" 351 in 2024. Sad detail: The statistics for 2025 do not even include the three people who lost their lives today (Monday) in Salzburg, Lower Austria and Vorarlberg (see link box below).

The KFV expects 382 fatalities for the year as a whole. The road safety strategy target of keeping the number below 310 was clearly missed. There was an increase in fatal cycling accidents - including e-bikes and e-scooters.

More and more fatalities involving bicycles and scooters
Last year, a total of 39 people lost their lives on bicycles, e-bikes and e-scooters; this year there have been at least 64 fatalities, an increase of 73 percent.

One reason for the change in the number of accidents is the increased use of e-bikes, e-scooters and bicycles. Added to this is the poorly developed cycling infrastructure for the steadily increasing volume of bicycle traffic.

Klaus Robatsch, Leiter des Bereichs Verkehrssicherheit im KFV

Fewer people injured in accidents involving cars
The exact numbers of people injured in road accidents in 2025 are not yet available. In the long term, however, the trend for cycling is also clearly pointing upwards.

"In 2024, 74 percent more cyclists and e-scooter riders were involved in accidents with personal injuries than ten years earlier," reported Robatsch. "In the passenger car sector, on the other hand, there was a decrease of 24 percent. These are factors that Austria needs to take much more into account when it comes to prevention."

According to the KFV analysis, 68 percent of all bicycle and e-scooter users killed in the past ten years were themselves the main cause of accidents - in the previous year, this figure was as high as 87 percent. Excluding all single-vehicle accidents, a total of 267 bicycle, e-bike and e-scooter users have been killed in collisions with other vehicles in the past ten years. However, in around half of these cases (132), it was not the person who was killed but the other party who was at fault.

More people have died on Austria's roads this year than in the entire previous year. E-scooters and e-bikes in particular are driving the statistics.(Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH)

Appeal to car drivers AND cyclists
"We appeal to all drivers of motor vehicles to adopt an adapted driving style - especially where they come into contact with cyclists," said Robatsch. "At the same time, cyclists should be aware that they are the more vulnerable in the event of an accident and should therefore not insist on having priority if a situation appears too risky."

KFV calls for mandatory helmets for all
The KFV is calling for helmets to be compulsory for everyone, regardless of age, who rides an e-bike or e-scooter. This could prevent up to 1000 craniocerebral injuries every year - and thus numerous hospital stays and consequential damage. The KFV also advocates a massive expansion of voluntary cycling and e-bike courses and the rapid expansion of cycling infrastructure.