Slightly fewer deaths and injuries on Quebec roads in 2024

The number of people killed or injured on Quebec’s roads decreased slightly in 2024 compared to the previous year, but issues remain regarding pedestrian and cyclist safety.

According to Quebec’s road safety report for 2024, released Thursday, 379 deaths occurred on the province’s roads last year, one fewer than in 2023.

The number of people injured in 2024 was 27,854, down from 28,104 in 2023.

The report notably notes an improvement in motorcyclist safety. The number of motorcyclist fatalities was 45 in 2024, a 23.5 per cent decrease compared to the 2019-2023 average of 59.

However, this illustrates the need to continue to pay special attention to pedestrian and cyclist safety.

In 2024, 80 pedestrians were killed on the roads, a 24.6 per cent increase compared to the 2019-2023 average of 64.

There were 13 cyclist fatalities in 2024, one more than the five-year average. Since 2019, between 8 and 16 cyclists have been killed each year in Quebec.

In a press release, Carl Bélisle, the captain responsible for the Sûreté du Québec’s transportation network safety strategy analysis office, reiterated that human behavior is the cause of “the majority of fatal and seriously injured collisions, which means they were preventable.”

“The adoption of safe behaviors by network users is therefore essential to reducing the number of road collisions, since road safety is a shared responsibility,” he reiterated.

Compared to the 2019 to 2023 average, the 2024 road safety report also shows a decrease of three deaths among young people aged 15 to 24, an increase of two deaths among people aged 75 and over, and an increase of five deaths among occupants of heavy trucks or tractor-trailers.

The Quebec road safety report is transmitted by the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec, in partnership with Contrôle routier Québec, the Sûreté du Québec and the Association of Police Directors of Quebec.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews