Pedestrian crossing crashes rise sharply in winter, VCÖ warns

Crashes at marked pedestrian crossings increase in the winter months, with Lower Austria recording 55 last year, the second-highest total among Austria’s federal states, ORF reports, citing an analysis by mobility organisation VCÖ.

November saw the most crashes, with 136, followed by December with 119 and January with 101. Four pedestrians were killed, 72 were seriously injured and 287 suffered minor injuries. Nearly two-thirds of crashes in those months happened in darkness or twilight.

Vienna recorded the most crashes, with 128, followed by Lower Austria, Styria with 44 and Upper Austria with 42. Eight in 10 crashes occurred on roads with a 50 km/h speed limit, VCÖ said. Older people accounted for a particularly high share of those killed or seriously injured.

VCÖ says drivers must approach crossings slowly enough to stop before them, and should be ready to brake and remain alert. It is also calling for better lighting around crossings and an extension of the no-parking zone before them from five metres to 10 metres, so parked vehicles do not block drivers’ view of pedestrians.