Accident Information from six European Countries Based on Self-reports

A questionnaire survey has been conducted in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Spain and Sweden in 2016­2017. Once every third month through one year respondents have received a link to an online questionnaire which asked them about information on any traffic accidents they might have experienced in the period. The questionnaire contains questions on various aspects related to the accidents that might contribute with costs as well as basic accident information such as means of transport and time of the accident. A special focus in the survey is on pedestrian single accidents, which are not normally considered traffic accidents. The survey finds that more than 80% of the pedestrian accidents that have been self-­reported are in fact single accidents, which illustrates the need for further investigation of the pedestrian single accidents as the number of these might be quite high. The study also provides knowledge of basic consequences of the pedestrian falls, for instance 16% result in medical treatment, 14% in one or more days of absence from work and 37% in property damage. The self-­reported traffic accidents have proved difficult to compare with official accident statistics, both due to different national guidelines on what constitutes a reportable accident and to the legal limitations on personal information which may be asked in the questionnaire; this eliminates the possibility of combining information with official accident records. However, based on the self-reports, it can be concluded that in 8% of the accidents the respondent have been in contact with the police