An unusually mild winter has seen a paradoxical spike in traffic deaths in Poland with motorists driving faster than usual in the absence of ice and snow, police said Wednesday.

National police spokesman Mariusz Sokolowski told AFP 4,142 people died in road accidents last year against 3,907 in 2010, a six percent increase.

"From January to November, there was a decline, but December was particularly mild and people were driving faster than normal," he said.

Last December saw 430 people dying in road accidents, compared to 173 people the previous year, according to police statistics.

Higher speed limits also came into force in Poland in 2011 raising the maximum speed on highways to 140 kilometres (86 miles) per hour from 130 kilometres.

Two Austrian hikers killed in Swiss avalanche
Geneva (AFP) Jan 4, 2012 - Two Austrian hikers died in an avalanche in eastern Switzerland, police said on Wednesday.

They were part of a group of four hiking towards the 2,867-metre- (9,406-foot-) high Juferhorn peak in the eastern canton of Grisons when they were buried in snow, a statement said.

The hikers, aged from 23 to 52, were properly equipped. The youngest was able to free himself and pulled a fellow climber out. The two others, a man aged 53, and a woman, 50, were dug out by rescuers.

The man died in the snow before he was found while the woman succumbed to her injuries after being hospitalised in critical condition.