New method for calculating accident rates on roads invented at HSE University

The National Research University "Higher School of Economics" (HSE University) has developed an innovative approach to assessing accident rates on roads. Instead of the traditional ratio of the number of registered cars to the number of deaths in road accidents, the new study is based on vehicle mileage.

According to the researchers' idea, the calculation of transport risk will be based on data on deaths in road accidents per 10,000 cars registered in the region. However, in this case, mileage is taken into account, not just the number of cars.

Current statistics calculate mileage only for trucks owned by large companies. The mileage of all vehicles can be successfully tracked using intelligent transport systems equipment. They are installed on many modern highways, as well as in Moscow and other major cities.

The existing methodology does not include cars traveling outside their regions, which makes it difficult to accurately analyze accident rates. Scientists from HSE University emphasized that the new approach to assessing transport risk faces additional difficulties. First of all, it will be necessary to assess the mileage of personal cars and vehicles owned by small and medium-sized enterprises.

The experience of foreign countries in solving similar problems may be useful. In the near future, HSE faces the task of developing a methodology suitable for Russian conditions.

Read more materials on the topic:

• New rules for determining road accident rates will appear in Russia
• The lowest accident rate on roads in Russia turned out to be in Chechnya, YANAO and Chukotka
• Russians began to get into car accidents less often in 2025