Press releases
The current EU approach to assessing whether drivers are medically fit to hold a licence needs substantial revision, according to a new report by ETSC. The report examines the current state of play in European countries regarding the assessment of medical fitness to drive, with reference to current EU rules. The EU is currently reviewing the Directive on driver licensing and a revised legal proposal is expected in 2022. The report shows that the starting point for many EU countries is still age-based assessment […]
ETSC, together with a coalition of organisations, has written to all 27 EU Transport Ministers and Industry Ministers expressing concern that vital new EU vehicle safety standards, set to come into force from 2022, could be set for a severe blow. The European Union agreed last year that all new cars, vans, lorries and buses should be fitted as standard with a range of new vehicle safety technologies, starting in 2022. The measures are predicted to prevent 25,000 road deaths within fifteen years, according […]
Preliminary data from 25 EU Member States show an average 36% drop in road deaths in April 2020 compared to the average of the same month in the previous three years, according to a new report by the European Transport Safety Council. The highest reduction in road deaths was recorded in Italy (84%), followed by Belgium, Spain, France and Greece with decreases of over 59%. But reductions in traffic did not lead to reductions in deaths in all countries. In Sweden, Denmark and the […]
Estonia, Greece, Lithuania, Latvia and Portugal have reduced road deaths the most since 2010 Estonia to receive the 2020 European Transport Safety Council Road Safety Performance Index Award Road deaths in Malta, the Netherlands and the UK were higher in 2019 than in 2010 EU “almost certain to miss” 2020 target to halve road deaths 17 June 2020 Brussels – The Baltic States, together with Greece and Portugal, were the best performing countries in the EU according to a new report on the progress […]
A quarter (25%) of road deaths in the European Union are the consequence of a collision involving a goods vehicle, according to the European Transport Safety Council, authors of a new report on the safety of goods transport by road. According to the new analysis, 3310 people lost their lives in police-reported road collisions involving a heavy goods vehicle (HGV) of 3.5 tonnes or above in the 27 countries of the EU in 2018. In the same year, 2630 people were killed in collisions […]
At least 51,300 pedestrians and 19,450 cyclists were killed on EU roads between 2010 and 2018 Cyclist deaths in the EU are declining eight times more slowly than deaths of motor vehicle occupants Deaths of cyclists in the EU have fallen eight times more slowly than deaths of motor vehicle occupants since 2010, according to the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), authors of a new report. (1) ETSC is calling for urgent action to ensure that sustainable modes of transport such as walking and […]
The European Union should introduce a zero-tolerance drink-driving limit in 2020 as part of a package of measures to help prevent up to 5,000 alcohol-linked road deaths every year, according to the European Transport Safety Council, authors of a new report. The EU has recently set a target to reduce deaths and serious injuries on the road by half by 2030 (1). A quarter of the 25,000 EU road deaths each year are likely to be linked to alcohol, according to European Commission estimates. […]
Commenting on the Dutch government’s plans to decrease the speed limit on motorways during daytime from 130 km/h to 100 km/h, Antonio Avenoso, Executive Director of the European Transport Safety Council commented: “Higher speeds are always associated with a higher frequency of collisions and more severe consequences. So a reduction in speeds on Dutch motorways will save lives. That’s to be welcomed, especially as motorway deaths in the Netherlands reached their highest level in a decade last year. (1) “However, it is important to […]
Ireland takes home 2019 ETSC Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) Award New European figures show numbers killed on EU roads last year fell by just 1% Call for new European Parliament and Commission to step up progress on road safety Ireland is the winner of this year’s European Transport Safety Council Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) award. The annual award is presented to a European country that has demonstrated continued progress on road safety combined with a strategic approach to tackling the problem across […]
Tackling urban road safety must be a key priority for the European Union and European countries over the next decade, according to the European Transport Safety Council, authors of a new report. **SCROLL DOWN FOR FRENCH AND GERMAN VERSIONS According to the data revealed today, road deaths on urban roads decreased at around half the rate of those on rural roads over the period 2010-2017. (1) Pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists – the three most vulnerable road user groups – represent 70% of those killed […]
The European Parliament has given the green light to new minimum EU vehicle safety requirements that will come into force from 2022. The vote by the full parliament, at its last session of this mandate, follows a provisional deal reached by the EU institutions last month. According to the final deal on the legislation, new cars, vans, lorries and buses sold in Europe will be fitted as standard with a range of new vehicle safety features such as Automated Emergency Braking which can detect […]
The European Commission has published the 2018 figures for road deaths and serious injuries in the European Union. Commenting on the new figures, Antonio Avenoso, Executive Director of the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) said: “It’s very disappointing that road deaths in the EU hardly declined in 2018. This is now the fifth year in a row that hardly any progress has been made. However there are reasons to be optimistic for the future. “In recent weeks, the EU has finalised two important pieces […]
New cars, vans, lorries and buses sold in Europe will be fitted as standard with a range of new vehicle safety features, starting in 2022, according to a provisional EU deal on the legislation reached last night in Strasbourg. The new rules include requirements for new technologies, such as Automated Emergency Braking which can detect pedestrians and cyclists, as well as overridable Intelligent Speed Assistance, to be fitted as standard for the first time. New lorries will be required to have improved levels of […]
Minimum road infrastructure safety standards will be extended to national roads across the EU in a significant boost for road safety, following a provisional deal on new legislation agreed today. Existing EU rules require governments to carry out regular road safety audits, identify high-risk sites and prioritise safety when building new roads but the legislation currently applies only to major European roads known collectively as the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). A revised version of the rules agreed today would extend these measures to all […]
A key committee of MEPs has given the green light for a range of new mandatory vehicle safety standards that could apply to new vehicle models within three years. The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) welcomes the result of the vote but warns that time is running out for a final deal on the legislation before European Parliamentary elections in May. Members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) voted today to approve a range of new vehicle safety […]
Speeding remains a significant problem in many European countries according to new research published today by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) ahead of an important vote in the European Parliament on Thursday on future mandatory in-vehicle safety technologies. The researchers looked at the numbers of vehicles found to be driving above the speed limit on different road types in the countries that were able to provide such data. On urban roads, where 37% of all EU road deaths occur, the researchers found that […]
New EU rules covering road infrastructure safety and minimum vehicle safety standards moved a step closer today, following approval by a key committee of MEPs in the European Parliament. The European Transport Safety Council welcomed the progress and is calling for the EU to reach a final deal on both pieces of legislation as soon as possible. The European Parliament’s Transport committee voted to approve an update to rules governing road infrastructure safety management. The existing requirements ensure governments carry out regular road safety […]
ETSC is warning that a weakened version of new EU road infrastructure safety rules, set to be agreed by national ministers of transport on Monday, will do little to improve road safety. ETSC is calling for MEPs in the European Parliament to demand more wide-ranging and effective rules when negotiations begin on the final legislation early next year. In a text set to be approved at the Transport Council meeting in Brussels, EU Member States have introduced weaker language on three key elements of […]
ETSC has warmly welcomed the endorsement today by EU ministers of industry of a new package of mandatory minimum vehicle safety standards. Antonio Avenoso, Executive Director of the European Transport Safety Council said: “Today EU member states have given strong backing to a game-changing package of new minimum vehicle safety standards. If this legislation is passed, together with the European Parliament, in the form it was proposed, it will prevent 25,000 people from dying over 16 years – a massive step forward for road […]
A coalition of automotive supplier companies, cities and groups campaigning for greater road safety (1) are calling on EU Ministers of Industry to give their full support to a proposed package of new vehicle safety measures at the EU Competitiveness Council meeting on Thursday 29 November. At the meeting in Brussels, industry ministers will outline their initial response, known as a “general approach”, to a package of 16 vehicle safety measures proposed by the European Commission in May. The coalition, representing €600 billion of […]