Looking at the country-by-country statistics, many achieved double-digit reductions in the number of road deaths over the past year, the best ones being Luxembourg (33%), Malta (29%) Sweden (26%) and Slovakia (26%). In contrast, fatalities actually rose 1% in Portugal and 20% in Estonia.

European Commission vice-president Siim Kallas, responsible for Transport, said: 'It is very encouraging that nearly all member states have managed to significantly reduce their number of road deaths, but there is no room for complacency. A hundred people still die on Europe's roads every day. We have made good progress since 2001 and we have succeeded in saving nearly 100,000 lives. But the number of fatalities and injuries on our roads is still unacceptable. We want to cut the number deaths by half by 2020. For this we will be looking at what kind of cars people drive, where they drive and how they drive.'

Last year, the Commission renewed its bid to halve the number of road deaths in Europe by 2020. Initiatives proposed in the "European Road Safety Policy Orientations 2011-2020" range from setting higher standards for vehicle safety, to improving the training of road users, and increasing the enforcement of road rules. The Commission says it's working closely with member states to implement this programme.