Deaths on EU roads halve in a decade - report

A cross placed by the side of the road in the centre of Warsaw August 8, 2009 marks the spot where a person was killed in a traffic accident. Between July 17, 2009 and July 19, 2009, 50 people have died and 703 injured in 458 car accidents, according to Karol Jakubowski of the Police press department. REUTERS/Peter Andrews

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Car deaths on Europe's roads have halved over the last decade, but campaigners say tougher EU laws could prevent many more people from dying needlessly.

Figures from the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), a non-governmental body, found more than 12,000 people were killed in cars in 2012 in the European Union and neighbouring Switzerland, the latest available figures, less than half the 28,000 deaths seen in 2001.