Norway's maximum legal blood alcohol level is extremely low at just 0.2g/l. In 2018, around 15% of fatal accidents were alcohol-related. The number of drivers impaired due to alcohol seems to be fairly stable or even slightly reduced.

Read more: Driving licences in Norway

Norwegian law stipulates that hands-free phones can be used, although devices must be attached to the instrument panel. Last year, there were 12 fatal crashes in which distraction was the cause. Only two of these were due to mobile phone use.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given the long distances between cities and the polar nights, fatigue and sleepiness are a problem. They were the cause of 13% of all fatal road accidents in Norway in 2018. However, some of this figure also had illness or alcohol/drug consumption as a contributory factor.

Regardless of the cause of the crash, an estimated one-third of those killed were either not wearing a seat belt, or not wearing one properly.

Road safety around the world

Elsewhere, the number of road deaths declined in 2018 in the majority of countries included in the report. In Portugal, Lithuania and Denmark, fatalities fell by more than 30% compared to the previous year. The number of road-related deaths fell by 1.7% on average across all countries.

IRTAD chairman Fred Wegman called the report good news, “as following good results at the beginning of the decade, the number of road deaths plateaued or even increased in several countries after 2013. However, several countries that achieved a relative strong reduction in the beginning of the decade seemed to struggle to further decrease the number of road casualties.”

Those countries include Norway's near neighbours Sweden, where road deaths increased by 28%. The 324 fatalities recorded 2018 was the highest figure since 2009. Of the fatalities, almost one-third involved a collision with a heavy truck. However, Sweden's roads remain among the safest in the European Union.

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