News
The European Commission has today published data showing that deaths on EU roads fell by just 2% last year, following a similar decrease in 2016 and a 1% increase in 2015. According to ETSC analysis, the EU target of cutting deaths by half in the decade to 2020 is now very unlikely to be reached. The EU28 collectively reduced the number of road deaths by 20% over the period 2010-2017, far less than the 38% cut needed to stay on course to meet the […]
ETSC has joined with the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF) and the European Federation of Road Traffic Victims (FEVR) in urging the EU institutions to give full priority to road safety when revising the EU driving and rest time rules. In particular, the statement calls for there to be no relaxation of the rules for buses and coaches. The statement is signed by: Robert Parillo, President, ETF Road Transport Section Jeannot Mersch, President FEVR, European Federation of Road Traffic Victims […]
In a letter to the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, 14 organisations have called for a ‘strong and timely response’ to forthcoming proposals from the European Commission on vehicle safety and pedestrian protection, expected on 2 May. The letter is signed by: Antonio Avenoso, Executive Director, European Transport Safety Council Eduardo Chagas, General Secretary, European Transport Workers’ Federation Sigrid de Vries, Secretary General, CLEPA, European Association of Automotive Suppliers Bernhard Ensink, Secretary General, European Cyclists’ Federation Eduard Fernández, Executive Director, CITA, International […]
The Swiss parliament has voted to cancel the planned introduction of alcohol interlocks for drink-driving offenders in Switzerland in a move described by Swiss road safety experts as ‘incomprehensible’. The alcohol interlock programme, part of Switzerland’s Via sicura road safety plan (which had previously received parliamentary support) – would have allowed people whose driving license had been withdrawn because of repeated drink-driving to be able to get back behind the wheel. The measure, the most effective available for tackling repeat drink-driving offences, now faces […]
The hype surrounding automated driving threatens to hold back progress over the next few years in reducing the 1.25m deaths that occur annually on the world’s roads. By 2030, there may well be a few million self-driving cars globally, but there will also be more than 1bn cars driving that do not have such features. Many of those vehicles are the ones that will leave factories this year and next. The issue is that policymakers, as well as carmakers, are becoming so obsessed with […]
More than 8,000 children aged 0-14 years have been killed in road traffic collisions over the last ten years in the European Union, new data show. Half of the children killed were travelling in cars, a third were walking and 13% were cycling, according to a report published today by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC). One in every 13 child deaths in the European Union occurs as a result of a road collision. The European Commission is expected to announce a long-overdue update […]
New report shows more than 5000 deaths a year in EU still caused by drink-driving Member States asked to increase enforcement and introduce rehabilitation programmes for drink-driving offenders The EU should require alcohol interlocks to be fitted in all new professional vehicles and retrofitted to cars used by repeat drink-driving offenders. These are two of the main recommendations from the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), authors of a new report looking at how to reduce the 5000 deaths still caused by drink-driving in the […]
A trial of lower speed limits on unseparated national roads in France has led to a reduction in speeds driven according to a new report by Cerema, a research institute. The trial, announced in May 2015, was run on three stretches of road, totalling 81km. Last month, the French government announced that the speed limit on all unseparated national roads would be reduced from 90 to 80 km/h from this Summer. Cerema observed the speeds before and after the lowering of the speed limit. […]
The number of road sections covered by time-over-distance cameras in the Belgian region of Flanders will more than double in 2018, from 31 locations to 68. The Flemish region now has time-over-distance cameras at 27 locations on regional roads and at three locations on motorways. The expanded network will include 34 new locations on regional roads and 3 locations on motorways. One Flemish MP, Joris Vandenbroucke welcomed the increase. “Speed is a killer on the roads. And we know from experience with the current […]
A new law, in force in Cyprus since last month, enables the police to perform roadside checks for driving under the influence of drugs. For the first ten days after the implementation of the law, the police engaged in an information campaign but, as of 25 January, checks are being performed and offenders prosecuted. The preliminary test is performed on a saliva sample, with a simple hand-held device, which gives only a positive-negative result. When the result is positive, a second saliva sample is […]
The European Commission has requested that six Member States fully transpose into national law rules agreed in 2014 on roadworthiness testing for motor vehicles. The rules, made up of three EU Directives, should have been in place in all Member States by 20 May 2017. To date, however, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Romania and Slovakia have not – or only partially – done so. The Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia have not adopted, published and communicated to the Commission measures on the […]
Lorry drivers should not be allowed to take their mandatory weekly rest in their vehicles, the European Union’s highest court has ruled. Under EU rules (2006/561/EU), drivers must have a daily rest period of at least 11 hours and a regular weekly rest period of 45 hours. The driver can choose to take their daily rest or a reduced weekly rest period in the vehicle only if it has suitable sleeping facilities and is stationary. A Belgian transport company brought a case in 2014 […]
The South Korean transport ministry has announced that it will require all new large passenger vehicles and trucks to be fitted with Automated Emergency Braking (AEB) and Lane Departure Warning (LDW) systems from January 2019. Meanwhile an expected announcement of new EU vehicle legislation mandating these and other technologies for new cars has been delayed until May. EU vehicle safety standards have not been updated since 2009, and while its 19 proposed measures are more comprehensive than any other region’s current plans, further delays […]
EU Member States have approved an exemption to EU vehicle type approval rules for a new automated lane change system, despite safety concerns being raised. No details of the system have been made public including the name of the make and model of vehicle the system will be fitted to. In a behind-closed-doors meeting in December of the “Technical Committee – Motor Vehicles” (TCMV) EU Member State representatives approved a European Commission decision to grant the German government permission to certify EU-wide a new […]
Antonio Avenoso, Directeur exécutif, ETSC English version L’article 4 de la Déclaration des Droits de l’Homme et du Citoyen de 1789 stipule: “La liberté consiste à pouvoir faire tout ce qui ne nuit pas à autrui …” Ces mots historiques semblaient appropriés hier, le gouvernement français ayant annoncé un certain nombre de mesures visant à améliorer la sécurité routière, notamment une réduction de la limite de vitesse de 90 à 80km/h sur les routes secondaires à double sens, dont les deux voies ne sont […]
By Antonio Avenoso, ETSC Executive Director Version française Article 4 of the 1789 French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of The Citizen states: “Liberty consists of doing anything which does not harm others…”. These historic words seemed appropriate yesterday as the French government announced a number of measures to improve road safety including a reduction of the speed limit on unseparated rural roads from 90km/h to 80km/h. The move has sparked a sadly now predictable backlash on social media and from groups […]
Two lane roads with no separating guard rail in France will have their default speed limit reduced from 90 to 80 km/h and alcohol interlocks will be required for recidivist drink driving offenders as part of the French government’s latest road safety crack-down. The measures, announced by the Prime Minister earlier this month, also include the possibility of suspending the license of a driver using a mobile phone at the wheel. The 80km/h limit has led to a backlash from motoring groups and on […]
The Fiat Punto is the first car ever to be awarded a zero star rating by Euro NCAP, the consumer testing organisation, in a development that highlights the risks of the EU failing to update minimum vehicle safety standards for almost a decade. Euro NCAP regularly updates the criteria for its star rating scheme, and retests cars to ensure safety levels are maintained in light of technological improvements. The minimum legal requirements for the EU market however were last updated in 2009 meaning it […]
The Belgian city of Antwerp has announced a trial of restrictions on heavy goods vehicles in two areas during the early morning and afternoon on school days. Lorries will be prohibited from circulating between 7.30 and 9.00 and between 15.00 and 17.00 when children are travelling to and from school. The Flemish pedestrians organisation Voetgangers Beweging has welcomed the announcement, describing the measure as a ‘Christmas gift to the children of Antwerp’ and called for expansion of the scheme across Flanders.
Volvo Cars has reduced the scale of its Drive Me automated driving trial and delayed the roll-out of fully-automated driving features to real-world users. The project, which has the support of the city of Gothenburg and the Swedish Government, was first announced in 2013 with the aim of testing 100 self-driving vehicles from 2017 with members of the public in the driving seat in every-day conditions on specially-chosen roads. But the revised plan signals a more cautious approach. The company announced in December that […]