In the past five years, the number of people injured in traffic annually has ranged between 1,658 and 2,231, while the number of fatalities has been between 50 and 69.

In the first six months of this year, a total of 700 people were injured and 19 killed in traffic incidents. During the same period last year, there were 982 injured and 24 fatalities.

This means that in the first half of this year, the number of injuries is down by 29 percent and fatalities by 21 percent compared to the first half of last year.

Statistics from the first five months of this year also show that motor insurance claims have dropped by as much as 11 percent.

Maria Pashkevich, head of the agency's traffic safety department, said the decrease in incidents is largely due to weather conditions. March was relatively warm, May was colder than usual, and summer has so far been rainy.

"Certainly, weather conditions do have an impact on traffic, and it manifests first in speed. The lower the speed, the lower the likelihood of a serious accident and of severe consequences from that accident," she explained.

Still, Pashkevich noted that in January, police were more active in traffic enforcement, and although this lasted only a month, enforcement has a rapid effect on what happens in traffic.

The official said it is still too early to celebrate a shift toward safer traffic, as the situation is likely to become more dangerous with better summer weather.

"We definitely see that as the weather gets nicer, when it's warm, sunny, and pleasant, traffic speeds also increase accordingly, and the number of vehicles on the road goes up, because there's probably a bit more movement. And with that, the risk also definitely increases," Pashkevich said.

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