News
In the run-up to crucial votes by EU industry ministers and in the European Parliament, the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) has launched a new social media campaign in support of future EU vehicle safety standards. In May this year the European Commission announced a significant proposal to upgrade mandatory vehicle safety standards for all new cars, vans, lorries and buses sold in the EU. The combination of new standards and technologies could save 25,000 lives in the EU between 2022 and 2037 according […]
One in 10 drivers would be tempted to have a nap while using a so-called ‘Highway Assist’ system, such as Adaptive Cruise Control, according to new research published this month alongside new Euro NCAP tests of cars featuring advanced driver assistance systems. In a separate briefing, also published this month, ETSC has called on the European Commission to set out plans for addressing the risks of driver over-reliance on automated systems and reiterated that there needs to be much more transparency around the approval […]
A study of safety issues and worker rights in the so-called gig economy has warned that workers paid per delivery are being incentivised to drive in adverse weather conditions and late at night while being penalised when packages are late or cannot be delivered due to sickness. The research, co-authored by Heather Ward of University College London (and co-chair of ETSC’s Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) programme), was presented earlier this month at the ETSC PRAISE conference on work-related road safety. Speaking at the […]
ETSC has announced the 2018 winners of the PRAISE awards, in recognition of outstanding efforts taken by companies to improve road safety at work. The large company award goes to CTT, the Portuguese postal services company. In the same category, FM Conway, the UK-based infrastructure services company was highly commended. The award for a public authority this year is awarded to STIB-MIVB, the Brussels public transport company. The winners will be honoured at a conference and award ceremony to be held in Brussels today […]
The London transport authority TfL has published a new Bus Safety Standard, part of a strategy to reach a target of no-one being killed on or by a London bus by 2030. The standard, which details the bus safety requirements all bus operators will need to adopt up to 2024, will also reduce road danger in the shorter term with a range of safety features required from next year. London’s buses carry 6.5 million passengers every day and are a particularly important service for […]
Letter: ACEA’s attempts to weaken the European Commission’s proposals on new vehicle safety measures
A group of safety experts, consumer groups, transport police, environmental campaigners, city authorities, cyclists and road collision victims have written today to members of the European Parliament’s Committees on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) and Transport (TRAN) to raise concerns over the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA)’s attempts to weaken the European Commission’s proposals on new vehicle safety measures and to ask MEPs to pass the legislation as soon as possible, to maximise its life-saving potential. Download the full letter (pdf) For more […]
This year’s Project EDWARD (the European Day Without A Road Death) took place across Europe on Wednesday 19 September. Devised in 2016 by the European Traffic Police Network (TISPOL), the initiative once again aimed to raise awareness of road safety and reduce the number of people killed on European roads. TISPOL General Secretary Ruth Purdie commented: “The figure of 50 deaths on Europe’s roads on Project EDWARD day is below the average of 70. But we must remember that there is a terrible tragedy […]
ETSC has warmly welcomed the appointment of Matthew Baldwin as the first European coordinator for road safety. Antonio Avenoso, Executive Director of ETSC said: “Following on from the Commission’s major package of road safety measures in May, we’re delighted that Commissioner Bulc has created this new leadership role to help deliver the EU’s road safety strategy for 2030. Matthew has a great understanding of the issues, and the clarity of vision to see where and how the EU can add the most value. We’re […]
A coalition of safety groups, traffic police, cyclists, transport workers and the road sector are calling on the European Parliament to back a proposal to extend the scope of EU road infrastructure safety rules to cover all primary roads in Europe, and to incorporate the needs of cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists in the implementation of the rules. More than 25,000 people died on EU roads in 2017, the equivalent of two passenger planes crashing every week, killing everyone on board. The existing rules, which […]
Germany’s Federal Statistical Office has launched an interactive map of traffic collisions. The website enables citizens and researchers to see road sections and sites where most collisions occurred on roads across Germany. The map shows only those incidents involving injuries and where the police were called. Filters are available to show, for example, collisions involving bicycles or passenger cars and for minor or serious injuries. The “accident atlas” contains information from the statistics of road collisions for the years 2016 and 2017. However, the […]
Four pairs of engineering students from Italy, Lithuania and Poland have been recognised for projects to redesign and upgrade high-risk road infrastructure in the cities of Milan, Naples, Vilnius and Kraków. The students’ projects were delivered as part of YEARS (Young Europeans Acting for Road Safety), a Europe-wide project on the road safety of young people managed by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) and the UK’s Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) with the support of the European Commission, the German Road […]
When a collision occurs, fast, appropriate and well- coordinated emergency response is crucial for effective treatment of seriously injured people. A new paper from ETSC, published as part of its REVIVE project, outlines the actions that are undertaken every time a road collision occurs. It describes the role of emergency/rescue services from the moment a call is taken to handover to hospital, and identifies areas where application of best practice is particularly important. It is directed towards the road safety community: policy makers and […]
The EU is set to adopt updated UNECE regulations on seatbelts that will require seatbelt reminder systems in all front and rear seats on new cars from September 2019. Existing EU vehicle safety rules agreed in 2009 only require seatbelt reminder systems on the driver’s seat. The updated requirements also include the front and rear passenger seats. In the front seats, the systems will need to be able to detect a passenger sitting and make an audible warning at the start of the journey […]
The mayor of London has announced plans to make 20mph (+/- 30 km/h) the default speed limit in the city as part of a new Vision Zero road safety action plan. The speed limits will be accompanied by redesigned streets, speed cameras and on-street enforcement as part of a Safe System approach. As well as the work on speed limits, the mayor has set a target of reducing the numbers killed or seriously injured on London’s roads by 65% by 2022, based on the […]
Stricter penalties for drink driving in Ireland are set to come into force after a new law was passed by the lower and upper houses of parliament. The Road Traffic Bill includes provisions for an automatic three-month driving ban for first-time offenders if caught with blood-alcohol levels of between 0.5 g/l and 0.8 g/l. Drivers currently caught at these levels receive three penalty points and no driving ban. The bill had almost reached its final stage in its passage through the lower house of […]
The German supermarket chain Aldi, has said all new lorries added to its fleet from 2019 will be fitted with turning assistant systems. The announcement came following a meeting organised by the German transport minister Andreas Scheuer with industry figures to discuss the issue of collisions caused by lorry drivers failing to see vulnerable road users in their blind spot when turning. The fitting of vulnerable road user detection and warning systems is one of the measures (see below) proposed by the European Commission in […]
Thatcham Research and the ABI (Association of British Insurers) have called on carmakers and legislators for greater clarity around the capability of vehicles sold with driver assistance and automated driving technologies. The call comes in the wake of growing reports of people crashing whilst over-relying on technology which is not yet designed to drive the car independently. The risks to drivers have been outlined in the new ‘Assisted and Automated Driving Definition and Assessment’ paper, which has identified dangerous grey areas associated with some […]
Two-lane roads with no separating guard rail in France have had their default speed limit reduced from 90 to 80 km/h since 1 July, fulfilling a commitment made by the Prime Minister in January. The change applies on 40% of the French road network; some 400,000 km of roads are affected by the lower limit. The government says that 350-400 deaths a year could be prevented by the measure. 55% of French road deaths occur on two-lane roads with no separating guard rail. A […]
The third phase of new UN regulations covering the safety of child car seats has been agreed and will come into force next year. The new additions to the R129 standard cover baby and toddler seats held in position by a seatbelt, i.e. not attached to Isofix mounting points found on newer cars. Child seats built to this new standard would be a safer option for parents with older cars without Isofix points. Phase 1 of the R129 standard, which has been in place […]
Judges in Belgium will have to oblige high level or repeat drink-driving offenders to follow an alcohol interlock rehabilitation programme after new legal changes come into force on 1 July 2018. Previously the alcohol interlock requirement was a little-used legal option, but it will now become mandatory in most cases. According to research by VIAS, ETSC’s Belgian member, recidivism is reduced by 75% for those that install an alcohol interlock and follow the accompanying rehabilitation programme. Under the existing rules, only 67 drivers have […]