Skopje, 2 December 2025 (MIA) - The key for zero victims in traffic accidents is respecting the five standard principles that are an example in European countries: safe speed, safe traffic participants, safe roads, safe vehicles, and efficient institutional response after a traffic accident, said Interior Minister Panche Toshkovski in an address Tuesday at the National Conference on Traffic Safety in Local Self-Government.

At the conference, the Minister said in the past 15 years the country has become synonymous with the peak of victims from traffic rule violations.

“The number is 145 victims. Macedonians, Albanians, Vlachs, Roma, Serbs, all the beautiful people living in Macedonia aren’t just a number when we speak of 145 victims from traffic rule violations over the past 15 years. Last year the number was 142 victims, unfortunately, most of them young people under 29. Globally, too, most deaths of young people are from traffic rule violations,” Toshkovski said.

The Minister urged coordinated activities of all institutions to meet the goals of the European strategy, aiming to halve the number of traffic victims by 2030 and reduce them to zero by 2050.

Toshkovski highlighted the importance of a proper implementation of the “Safe City” system, which is in a trial stage as of Monday. By mid-2026 it should be implemented across the entire country, the Minister said. 

Photo: MIA