Roadworthiness vote a missed opportunity for EU road safety

ETSC today expressed disappointment at the outcome of the European Parliament Transport Committee’s vote on the revision of the EU’s roadworthiness package, warning that MEPs have fallen short of delivering meaningful progress on road safety at a time when Europe is off track to meet its 2030 road death reduction target.

MEPs declined to support annual technical inspections for cars over ten years old, despite evidence that this single measure could prevent around 74 deaths and 850 severe injuries every year in the 11 Member States where such testing does not yet apply. 

The Committee also chose not to extend mandatory periodic technical inspections to all powered two-wheelers, leaving around 70% of the EU’s motorcycle fleet outside the scope of EU rules on mandatory checks, even as riders continue to account for 21% of all EU road deaths.

MEPs did agree to phase in roadside inspections for vans, though on a more limited scale than the Commission had originally proposed. ETSC welcomes this step, while regretting that the ambition has been scaled back at a time when deaths involving light goods vehicles are now on a par with those involving heavy goods vehicles.

The Committee also opened two significant loopholes. Member States would be allowed to opt out of physical roadside checks on vans entirely if they commit to remote emissions sensing of 20% of the fleet. Remote sensing has its uses, but it cannot detect the mechanical defects that physical inspections are designed to catch, and it should complement roadside checks, not replace them. A second derogation would exempt vans from roadside inspections if they have been subject to a periodic inspection in the past year. 

On a positive note, the Committee moved to close some small gaps in the original Commission proposal, bringing mandatory safety systems such as seatbelt reminders and moving-off information systems into the scope of inspections, and ensuring all automated driving systems would be covered. These are welcome additions, although important gaps remain, including the need to ensure that assisted driving systems (so-called Level 2+ systems) are checked as well.

Ellen Townsend, Policy Director at ETSC, said:

“This is not the rollback we have seen in other recent road safety files, such as the driving licence rules. But neither is it the step forward that the EU needed. Road deaths are not falling fast enough to meet the 2030 target of halving road deaths, and a vote that broadly preserves the status quo is, in this context, a big missed opportunity.”

“The Commission’s impact assessment set out in plain terms that a strong revision could prevent around 7,000 deaths and 65,000 serious injuries by 2050. The measures that would have delivered big benefits – EU-wide annual checks for older vehicles and bringing all powered two-wheelers into the inspection regime – are precisely the ones that have been left out.”

The European Parliament will now enter into negotiations with the Council of the EU on the final text of the revised directives.