The council’s new report shows that over 2010-2013 Slovakia made a dramatic 37% reduction in total deaths of road users.

Spain, Greece and Portugal also made excellent progress, cutting deaths by more than 30% over the same three-year period. In contrast, Finland, Serbia and Sweden only managed to reduce deaths by less than 5%, and in Estonia and Malta there were a few more deaths in 2013 than in 2010.

The report also shows that progress on reducing the number of people seriously injured on Europe’s roads has not matched progress on cutting deaths. But EU-led efforts to harmonise the data classification and collection process across member states is opening the way to setting an EU target for cutting the numbers seriously injured.

In response, the ETSC is repeating its call for this target to be set at a cut of 35% between 2015 and 2020, adding that this is ‘challenging but should be achievable for EU member states’. The European Commission is expected to come forward with wider proposals to tackle serious injury on the road next year.

In recognition of the Slovakian government’s efforts in road safety, the ETSC has presented it with an award at an event today (18th June) in Brussels.

Road safety has made headlines in Slovakia in recent days due to a bus collision on 6th June that caused the deaths of four teenagers and seriously injured a number of others.

Antonio Avenoso, executive director of ETSC, said: ‘Today we are recognising the progress that Slovakia has made in recent years to improve road safety. But we are reminded by this recent tragedy that our collective responsibility is to work towards a day when deaths on the road are a thing of the past.

‘We hope that recent events, and today’s award, will inspire new measures in Slovakia to improve road safety. We urge the government to introduce a penalty point system combined with increased enforcement of traffic laws, extend the speed camera network and require the use of alcohol interlocks for repeat drink driving offenders.’