Insurers' organization report: 826 severe road accidents caused by technical failures in 17-year span

In the interval 2000 - 2017 technical failures caused 826 serious road traffic accidents that resulted in 309 deaths and in 752 people sustaining severe injuries, shows an expert report unveiled at a press conference on Thursday by the representatives of the National Union of Romania's Insurers and Reinsurers (UNSAR). 

UNSAR considers the number and consequences of the serious road accidents caused by vehicle technical issues has considerably reduced in recent years, placing them in the lower section of the ranking of causes of severe accidents. 

Maintenance and operation issues are currently the major reasons of vehicle technical faults. Although with a low frequency, accidents by technical faults result in high mortality, calling for measures to reduce the risk of the occurrence of technical defects and traffic risk. 

Other causes of traffic accidents are neglectful failure to observe the maintenance schedules and mandatory regular technical checks, as well as operation errors, particularly in the case of freight and passenger vehicles. 

The UNSAR report said the road traffic fatality index over the past 17 years is 27.6 overall and 37.4 for accidents caused by technical issues, up 10 percent.