New study findings have outlined the most perilous European countries to drive in, with Romania ranking at the top of the list.
Conducted by Vignetteswitzerland.com, the study analyzed the most recent data from the European Transport Safety Council to identify countries with the highest road deaths per million inhabitants.
The analysis revealed that Romania is statistically the most dangerous country to drive in Europe. The 2022 data indicates 85.81 deaths per million inhabitants, the highest among all countries in the study. However, this marks a 10.26% decline from 2012 when the rate was 95.62 deaths per million inhabitants.
Following closely in second place is Serbia, reporting 82.65 road deaths per million inhabitants. Compared to 2012, this shows a 13.01% decrease from 95.01 road deaths per million inhabitants.
Bulgaria secures the third spot with 77.64 road deaths per million inhabitants and a minor 6.02% drop from 2012 where the rate was 82.62.
Ranking fourth is Croatia, with 71.20 road deaths per million inhabitants, marking a significant 22.53% decline from 2012 when the rate was 91.91.
Rounding out the top five is Portugal, reporting 62.30 road deaths per million inhabitants, an 8.53% decrease from the 2012 rate of 68.11.
The most dangerous European countries to drive in
| Rank | Country | Road deaths per mln inhabitants (2012) | Road deaths per mln inhabitants (2022) | Percentage change 2012-2022 |
| 1 | Romania | 95.62 | 85.81 | -10.26% |
The study also disclosed that Norway is statistically the safest country to drive in Europe, with only 21.38 deaths per million inhabitants, the lowest among all European countries. This represents a 26.48% decline from 2012 when the rate was 29.08 deaths per million inhabitants.
The safest European countries to drive in
| Rank | Country | Road deaths per mln inhabitants (2012) | Road deaths per mln inhabitants (2022) | Percentage change 2012-2022 |
| 1 | Norway | 29.08 | 21.38 | -26.48% |
Regarding the findings, M. E.Wijnmalen, CEO of Vignetteswitzerland.com, commented, “With how connected Europe is, and how easy it is to travel from one country into another, it’s important to keep knowledge of the driving conditions in each country you travel to. Many factors can affect these conditions, such as road quality, driving laws or even changes in speed limits that can influence the risk you run of simply just being on the road.”