The National Road Safety Authority (ANSR) has released the 24-hour accident report and road inspection for the first half of 2023, which shows that between January and June, there were 16,419 accidents with victims, resulting in 233 deaths, 1,120 seriously injured and 19,092 slightly injured.

The report shows that there were increases in all main indicators compared to the same period in 2022, with 1,358 more accidents (+9), 24 more fatalities (11.5%), 53 more serious injuries (+5% ) and another 1,533 minor injuries (+8.7%).

The ANSR states that the worsening of accidents and minor injuries was more significant in January (+19.4% and +22.3%, respectively), but the greater increase in fatalities and serious injuries resulted in April (+76.7% and +28.2%, respectively).

In relation to the category of vehicles involved in accidents, light cars accounted for 70.9% of the total, an increase of 7.9% compared to the first half of 2022, but the biggest increases were in accidents involving motorcycles (more 19.2% compared to 2022) and in bicycles (+12.8% compared to 2022), as well as in the number of deaths.

The report also states that, in the first six months of the year, there was an increase in the number of accidents in 15 of the 18 districts, with greater expression in Bragança (+25%), Castelo Branco (+20.9%) and Beja (+20.4%).