Enforcement
Across Europe, about 50 people each year per million population are killed in road traffic and about five times as many are seriously injured, consumption of alcohol is high by global standards, and a widely quoted estimate is that about a quarter of the road deaths are related to drink driving. The more than half a century since evidence from the USA made it irrefutable that drink driving increases the number of road deaths has been a time of growing cohesion among many European […]
Safe and Sober Webinar An overview of current and forthcoming alcohol interlock programmes in Europe Online event : Monday 7 December 2020, 15:30 – 16:45 CET The European Transport Safety Council hold a Safe and Sober webinar on 7 December. This online event featured the launch of our new report on alcohol interlock programmes in Europe and national experts from Belgium, Finland, France and Sweden shared their experiences. Driving under the influence of alcohol is one of the four main killers on the road, […]
The Netherlands has begun issuing fines following detection of mobile phone use by a new generation of cameras, the first EU Member State to do so. Since last month drivers holding a phone behind the wheel can be photographed by smart cameras. If the system determines that the driver is holding a phone, the photo is automatically forwarded to the relevant agency where an investigating officer will determine whether there is indeed a violation. Fines can then be sent out automatically. The cameras take […]
The EU roadworthiness package was last revised in 2014 and consists of Directive 2014/45/EC on Periodic Roadworthiness tests, Directive 2014/47/EC on technical roadside inspections of commercial vehicles and Directive 2014/46/EC on the requirements for issuing registration certificates with implementation in May 2018. The EC is in the phase of preparing its implementation report, expected to be published in the autumn, and the EP will prepare its own implementation report following this. ETSC has prepared this updated position paper to feed into this process including […]
Changes to road safety laws in Italy could lead to the introduction of alcohol interlock programmes for drink driving offenders, as well as updates to numerous road safety rules. The new legal proposal to introduce alcohol interlocks came from the CNEL, a state body with the power to propose new legislation, and has been presented to the two houses of the Italian parliament, marking the first step on the road to adoption. Meanwhile long-running proposals to update an array of other Italian road safety […]
The aim of ROADPOL Safety Days is to reduce the number of traffic fatalities to zero, at least on one day. Traffic police forces from ROADPOL member countries participate in the campaign every year. Activities vary across countries but are centred on enforcement and direct engagement with road users. Organisations in all countries are invited to participate in the ROAPDOL Safety Days campaign, organising national events and activities and sharing the road safety outcomes. Schools, road safety organisations and many others support the campaign […]
A new speed enforcement sign in Poland warns drivers of their current speed as well as the fine and penalty points they could expect to receive if they get caught. The sign has been installed with support from the local police and local authority near a primary school in the district of Lipsko in the province of Mazovia. Od kilku dni nad bezpieczeństwem uczniów PSP w Chotczy Józefów czuwa radarowy wyświetlacz prędkości, który został zainstalowany przy szkole https://t.co/QTlTPNiEnR. Urządzenie to ma charakter prewencyjno-edukacyjny. pic.twitter.com/uYHZfNr4NI […]
The Spanish directorate-general for traffic (DGT) is testing a new mobile speed camera that can detect speeding from up to 1km away, and can also detect mobile phone use and seatbelt wearing. The new mobile enforcement device, which could be approved and in use by the end of the year, would still only be able to apply a speeding penalty from 80-100m away under current rules.
Emmanuel Barbe, the outgoing French road safety chief, says 336 deaths were prevented over the 18-month period since the introduction of a lower 80 km/h on single-carriageway rural roads in France. Mr Barbe also criticised the “shameful” vandalism that led to large numbers of speed cameras being put out of action by the yellow vest movement. Without that damage, the figures for deaths prevented would have been higher, he said. An analysis report published last month by researchers at Cerema found that, thanks to […]
The Dutch alcohol interlock programme was twice as effective as other sanctions at reducing recidivism, and the effects continued after participation in the scheme, according to new research by the Dutch Ministry of Justice research centre (WODC). According to the researchers, 4% of those who followed the programme were re-convicted of a drink-driving offence within two years, compared to 8% for a control group who faced other sanctions. An education programme for drink-driving offenders had a recidivism rate of 7%, compared to 9% for […]
The Italian government has announced an agreement between the Ministry of Interior and the National Association of Italian Municipalities (ANCI) to increase road traffic enforcement by engaging city police in tasks previously assigned to traffic police and national police. The agreement, announced earlier this month, followed the deaths of seven German tourists, killed by a single drink-driver in the ski resort of Lutago outside a night club. 11 others were injured in the crash. Road deaths increased last year in Italy according to the […]
The Irish Road Safety Authority (RSA) says new figures show that drug driving is a major problem on Ireland’s roads. Cannabis is now not far behind alcohol in blood and urine samples examined by the Irish Medical Bureau of Road Safety (MBRS), according to the RSA. According to the new data, 68% of drivers with a positive roadside drug test, between April 2017 and July 2019, had a positive test for cannabis. Cocaine follows closely behind as the main illicit drug detected after cannabis, […]
Sweden has long been a forerunner in the fight against drink driving. In 1999 the country was one of the first EU member states to introduce alcohol interlocks as part of rehabilitation programmes for drink drivers. In 2013, Sweden went a step further and ran a pilot project to introduce a fast-moving automated ‘Alco Gate’ at the Port of Gothenburg. This briefing explores the background to the project and its results, which could have positive future implications for drink driving policy in Sweden and […]
The Polish Prime Minister has promised to make road safety a priority. In a Facebook post on 29 October Mateusz Morawiecki said “A comprehensive plan for the radical improvement of road safety will be one of the government’s priorities in the new term.” Road safety protests were sparked in Warsaw last month after a fatal collision between a BMW car – reportedly being driven at 130 km/h on a road where the speed limit was 50 km/h – and a man pushing a baby […]
ETSC has launched a short video explaining why the EU needs a common drink-driving limit set at zero. Watch/share on YouTube and Twitter.
Within two days of new rules on distracted driving coming into force in Romania this month, 310 fines were issued by the police, according to official figures. The new rules, which cover calling and texting but also new trends such as filming and taking photos while driving, include significant fines, of around EUR 200, and penalty points for those seen breaking the law. Drivers caught using their phone at the same time as committing another offence will accumulate more points and higher fines, and […]
Dutch motorways are becoming less safe, according to research by SWOV, the Dutch institute for road safety research. The number of motorway deaths rose to 81 in 2018, the highest figure in more than a decade. The total number of collisions has more than doubled in five years, from 17,000 in 2014 to more than 38,000 in 2018. SWOV, in a new report, said the main causes of collisions were speeding and drivers being distracted. The organisation also said a shift away from road […]
Police officers across Europe ran a week of coordinated actions to reduce speeding earlier this month including a 24-hour ‘Speed Marathon’. Figures from last year’s action showed that of 3,244,397 vehicles checked during the 24-hour operation, 92 per cent were driving within the legal speed limit. However, 257,639 speeding offences were detected, either by police officers or by technical means. The ‘Speed Marathon’ concept was devised six years ago in Germany. The concept, which involves inviting members of the public to identify locations where […]
Speed is a major factor in overall road safety performance. Excessive and inappropriate speed is accountable for about one third of fatal collisions and is an aggravating factor in most collisions. 2,100 lives could be saved each year if the average speed dropped by only 1 km/h on all roads across the EU. Speeding on different types of road In the EU, 37% of all road deaths occur on urban roads. Among the countries that monitor levels of speed compliance on urban roads countrywide, […]
Antonio Avenoso Executive Director, European Transport Safety Council Road collisions, especially those without death or serious injury, rarely make for global news headlines. Except of course when a member of the British royal family is involved. Commentators have been quick to place the blame for last week’s collision involving the Duke of Edinburgh’s SUV and a Kia Carens MPV. The culprits include an elderly driver, speed limits that were too high and glare caused by the sun. An in-depth crash investigation by a professional […]