15 March 2016 – Time to address serious road injuries, European Parliament, Brussels
Breakfast debate, Members Salon, European Parliament, 15 March 2016, 08:00 – 09:00
This event was kindly hosted by Olga Sehnalova MEP
More than 200,000 people suffer life-changing injuries on Europe’s roads every year. Since 2010 the number of people seriously injured on EU roads has been reduced by just 1.6%, compared to an 18% decrease in the number of road deaths. Last year the numbers seriously injured actually went up, by more than 3% compared to the previous year.
The principle of a separate target for reducing serious injuries was agreed five years ago by all of the three main EU institutions. It was proposed in the 2010 European Commission Transport White Paper, and received the backing of member states soon after. In a vote last autumn, the European Parliament also reiterated earlier calls for “the swift adoption of a 2020 target of a 40% reduction in the number of people seriously injured, accompanied by a fully fledged EU strategy.”
The EU targets for road deaths were an important driver for the dramatic reductions we have seen in many EU countries. A European serious road injury reduction target is a simple, cheap, non-controversial and necessary step. Moreover, there is a strong economic case to act. Estimates undertaken by the European Transport Safety Council show that, if all serious injuries recorded in 2010 could have been prevented, the benefits to society would have been more than 50 billion Euros in that year.
The discussion covered:
- What is the case for setting a serious injury target in the EU, today?
- What are the main measures for reducing serious injury in traffic in the EU?
Written Declaration Number 0004/2016 to adopt a new European serious injury target has been launched with an 18 April deadline. The written declaration can be signed personally in Strasbourg at office LOW T02024 or in Brussels at office PHS 02A049 or electronically using a specific form which must be send electronically from the Member’s own mailbox: WritDeclSign@europarl.europa.eu.
More than 200000 people suffer serious injuries on EU's roads every year.Morning debate on #roadsafety with @ETSC_EU pic.twitter.com/u1aOAENjQi
— Olga Sehnalová (@OlgaSehnalova) March 15, 2016
I support @ETSC_EU's call for EU-wide target to reduce serious road traffic injuries. Encourage your MEP to do same: https://t.co/Zk7vNkOmHs
— Keith Taylor MEP (@GreenKeithMEP) March 14, 2016
Spending Tuesday morning with @ETSC_EU, @OlgaSehnalova and colleagues at breakfast debate on #roadsafety in @Europarl_EN . #VisionZero
— Ismail Ertug (@IsmailErtug) March 15, 2016
We’re at @Europarl_EN this morning asking MEPs to support an EU target to reduce serious road injuries. #LetsGo pic.twitter.com/5auMfBuvcc
— ETSC (@ETSC_EU) March 15, 2016
Thanks to these road safety superstars 4 signing the EP written dec. for an EU target to cut serious road injuries pic.twitter.com/EHQchZTO5A
— ETSC (@ETSC_EU) March 15, 2016
Agenda
Chairperson: Ellen Townsend, ETSC
07:45 Registration
08.00-08.05 Welcome Olga Sehnalova MEP
08.05-08.10 Magda Kopczynska, Director, DG MOVE, European Commission
08.10-08.25 Why the EU needs a target to reduce serious road injuries Graziella Jost, European Transport Safety Council
08.25-08.30 Jeannot Mersch, European Federation of Road Traffic Victims
08.30-08.35 The impact of target setting in road safety Stephen Perkins, International Transport Forum
08.35-08.55 Debate, questions, concluding remarks