100 years of traffic accidents
Just four people died in traffic accidents last year. Photo: Jakob Fannar Sigurðsson
25 August 2015 is a rather macabre anniversary inasmuch as it is 100 years to the day since Iceland’s first recorded traffic fatality. Since then, 1,511 people have died in traffic accidents in Iceland.
This is among the findings of a new study by Óli H. Þórðarson, former Traffic Board chairman, looking at the period 1915-2015.
On 25 August 1915, nine-year-old Guðmundur Ólafsson ran out onto Austurstræti in central Reykjavik into the path of an oncoming cyclist. The boy sustained a sharp blow to the head and died later that day.
Since then, there have been 1,511 traffic fatalities. 94% of the victims are Icelanders and 71% are men. The most common type of accident is pedestrians being run over by a vehicle (471).
The worst year in terms of traffic fatalities was 1977, when 37 people died in 33 accidents. Last year – 2014 – saw just four road deaths, a figure not seen since back in 1939.
Road accident fatalities since 1915. Photo: from Óli H. Þórðarson's report
