Naples, +26% road deaths in 2024, the Italian province with the worst increase

Naples – A war bulletin that spares no one: in 2024, the province of Naples recorded a dramatic 26,1% increase in road fatalities, with 111 deaths compared to 88 the previous year.

This is what emerges from the latest ACI-ISTAT report, published on October 14, which places Naples first among Italian provinces for the absolute increase in deaths: +23 in a single year.

This increase is in stark contrast to the national trend, where deaths fell by 0,3% (from 3.039 to 3.030), despite a slight increase in accidents (+4,1%, for a total of 173.364 accidents resulting in injuries).

In Campania, the situation is equally alarming: +18,6% of deaths (from 220 to 261, +41 victims), with accidents increasing by 6,2% (10.874 against 10.242) and injuries +4,8% (15.386).

These numbers paint a picture of chronic vulnerability, where urban and suburban roads become lethal traps, and prevention remains a mirage. The Metropolitan City of Naples, with its 5.858 accidents recorded in 2024, saw not only an explosion in deaths (+26,1%), but also injuries (+7,2%, from 7.385 to 7.918).

A terrifying rate: 16 accidents a day, 22 people injured, and more than two deaths a week. The phenomenon is concentrated in urban centers, where 81 of the 111 victims lost their lives in 4.941 accidents. However, it is the extraurban arteries that prove deadly, with a fatality rate of 4,5% (4,5 deaths per 100 accidents), four times the national average of 1,7%.

Young people and nights are the most tragic chapters: 36% of the victims are under 30 years old (40 cases), and 23 of these deaths – almost half – occurred between 22pm and 6am, hours in which vigilance decreases and risks amplify.

Driving while looking at your phone is responsible for 25% of all accidents, while high-speed driving accounts for 36% of fatalities, turning a simple mistake into an irreversible tragedy. Excluding the capital, Pozzuoli leads the accident rankings with 233 incidents, but Giugliano in Campania holds the gruesome record: 7 deaths and 359 injuries, a local epidemic that calls into question institutions and communities.

A glimmer of hope, albeit faint, comes from the Municipality of Naples, where the accident rate is showing slight signs of improvement. Accidents rose by 6,9% (from 2.378 to 2.544) and injuries by 6,4% (from 3.066 to 3.262), but deaths fell by 5,4% (from 37 to 35), an improvement that exceeds the national decline of 0,3%.

Yet, the alarm remains high for pedestrians: 16 deaths in 2024, 45,7% of the total, up 45,5% from 11 the previous year. Added to this are 10 motorcyclists and one cyclist killed, while the causes remain unchanged: distraction accounts for 24,3% of all accidents, and speed accounts for 36% of fatalities.

The decline in deaths under 30 is positive (-30%, to 7 cases), but the increase among those over 65 (+7,1%, to 14) is worrying, indicating fragile mobility for the elderly. At the regional level, Campania remains at the bottom of the list: the increase in deaths (+41) is the highest in Italy, and only Benevento offers a virtuous counterpoint, with declines across the board (-5,5% accidents, -27,3% deaths, -3,9% injuries). Nationally, 470 pedestrians (-3,1%), 185 cyclists (-12,7%, including 20 on e-bikes, +66,7% compared to 2023), and 23 scooter riders.

According to experts, these figures are holding Italy back from achieving the EU 2030 target of halving road deaths compared to 2019, with a 4,1% increase in accidents negating progress.

"The fight for road safety requires a quantum leap," thunders Antonio Coppola, president of the Automobile Club of Naples, in an appeal that echoes recent tragedies, such as the one on Corso Umberto. "We mustn't wait for tragic events to intervene, but must prevent them in time.

As reiterated in the Accident Observatory promoted by Prefect Michele di Bari, who is sensitive to the issue, we can't wait years for infrastructure improvements. We need to intensify checks, strengthen the municipal police force, and increase video surveillance. But real change starts from the mental level: training courses in schools for students and teachers, widespread awareness campaigns. These words, in an area where Vesuvius watches over battered roads, sound like an urgent warning. Because every statistic is a broken story, and Naples cannot afford further announced losses.