European Commission
The European Commission has launched public consultations on two road safety-linked issues. The first consultation looks at current EU rules on driver licensing, ahead of an update to the legislation scheduled for next year. Relevant issues could include medical fitness to drive, and the need for graduated licenses for young and novice drivers. The second has been launched in preparation for a new EU urban mobility strategy, which ETSC hopes will contain more in the way of concrete measures to improve urban road safety […]
MEPs will have their say on the EU’s road safety strategy for the next ten years in a report expected to be published next month, with formal approval later this year. ETSC is calling for strong backing for EU and global targets to halve deaths and injuries by 2030, and an increase in EU institutional capacity to tackle road safety issues such as slow improvements in vulnerable road user safety and better oversight of automated driving. The Parliament’s report follows the publication of the […]
A software bug that can result in a crashed car sending incorrect location information to emergency services has led to a recall of 1.3 million vehicles by Mercedes-Benz in the USA. The recall came to light in a report published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Agency (NHTSA) earlier this month, which references “a case in the European market” where a car was found to have sent incorrect location data following a collision. There is no central agency for vehicle recalls in the EU. […]
Updated rules on cross-border enforcement of traffic offences, vehicle roadworthiness, automated vehicles, and driving licenses and a proposal to add eCall automated emergency calling devices to motorcycles, trucks and buses are among a major package of new legislative measures for the transport sector announced by the European Commission last week. The new Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy follows the pattern of recent years of bundling up an array of new related measures into a package rather than announcing them individually. The Commission also says […]
The European Commission has published the conclusions of a recent “executive seminar” on the issue of speed and road safety, outlining several recommended areas for action, including suggestions for maximum speed limits for different road categories. The report says too many roads allow speeds which are too high for the safety of all road users present, given the level of protection afforded by the quality of the infrastructure and the vehicles involved. Evidence in different European countries (including Sweden, the Netherlands and France) generally […]
Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) is one of the vehicle safety technologies included in the EU’s new General Safety Regulation for motor vehicles (GSR) and will become mandatory for all new vehicles types as of 2022 and all new vehicles as of 2024. The detailed technical requirements for ISA are currently being prepared by the European Commission, who as part of that process have presented a “draft delegated act”. ETSC welcomes the draft delegated act, however, calls on the European Commission to incorporate the following […]
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 […]
A number of EU Member States have formally notified the European Commission of changes or suspensions to the application of several EU regulations and directives that impact on transport safety. The notifications follow the publication in May of a legal framework for such suspensions in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As ETSC reported in April, several countries had already begun notifying the Commission that they would suspend application of some rules during the epidemic. The framework set out in May allows for temporary […]
The European Commission will not give carmakers extra time to comply with planned safety or environmental legislation, according to a news report. “The Commission will not propose to postpone the entry into force of any new pollutant emissions or safety legislation,” Johannes Bahrke, a Commission spokesperson was reported as saying by Politico Pro – a subscription EU policy news service. The statement followed a public letter sent by the carmaker lobby group ACEA in June calling for a six-month delay to several pieces of […]
The European Commission has announced the winners of four sustainable mobility awards including the first ever prize for urban road safety, awarded to Pontevedra in Spain. Pontevedra has reduced road deaths consistently since 1999, impressively achieving zero road deaths between 2011 and 2018. A host of measures ensure that safety and sustainability go hand-in-hand. The city used a clear and careful monitoring strategy to identify which policies are effective and which need to be updated, resulting in increased active mobility, such as walking and […]
The European Commission has published a series of recommendations for transport policy as Member States transition out of lockdown. The main focus of the “communication” is to advise on ways of ensuring freight and passenger transport services can operate safely, with appropriate protections and social distancing requirements. However ETSC wrote to Commissioner Valean in early May pointing out important road safety considerations to be taken into account for the exit strategy. In the letter, ETSC stressed that any flexibility or suspension to road safety […]
Van drivers on international routes will need tachographs under EU deal on driving and resting times
International transport operators using light goods vehicles of over 2.5 t will be subject to EU rules for driving and resting times, and their vehicles will need to be fitted with tachographs, according to a provisional EU deal on updated transport regulations. Currently only heavy goods vehicle and coach drivers are required to use tachographs and respect strict limits on driving and resting times. The change marks the first time the rules will apply to some van drivers – something ETSC has long called […]
The European Commission has announced the first ever Urban Road Safety Award nominees. The awards will celebrate outstanding and innovative achievements by local authorities in the area of road safety. The finalists are: Jaworzno (Poland); Ordu (Turkey) and Pontevedra (Spain). The jury praised, in particular, Jaworzno’s action to reduce speed limits, increase the number of public transport users, and involve local residents in the design of renovated streets. Ordu’s “courageous” decision to pedestrianise the busiest parts of the city, remove heavy car traffic from […]
Several EU Member States have formally notified the European Commission of temporary suspensions to the application of a number of EU road safety laws. Several countries are allowing longer driving times for lorry drivers, to enable deliveries of essential products such as medical equipment. With driver and vehicle testing centres forced to shut their doors, many countries have also extended the validity of driving licenses, certificates of professional competence and vehicle technical inspection certificates. While ETSC recognises the unique circumstances of the current lockdowns, […]
Adina Vălean, the European Commissioner for transport underlined the importance of the Safe System approach and recommitted to the new 2030 target to halve road deaths in the EU as she faced MEPs on the topic of road safety for the first time since her official confirmation. At the first plenary debate on road safety of the current parliamentary session, in Strasbourg on 13 February, a number of MEPs challenged the Commissioner to bring forward measures to address several key challenges. Róża Thun of […]
Government delegates from more than 80 countries discussed how to step up ambition and improve global road safety in the next decade at a major international conference in Stockholm. During the 3rd Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety in Stockholm, Swedish Minister for Infrastructure Tomas Eneroth presented the Stockholm Declaration, stressing the need for continued, ambition in particular by working towards a new global fatality reduction target, as the current target expires this year. The document will provide guidance up to 2030, focussing on […]
Adina-Ioana Vălean, a Romanian politician, MEP and chair of the European Parliament’s Industry committee will take over from Violeta Bulc as European Commissioner for Transport from 1 December. Mrs Vălean was approved for the role at a European Parliament hearing on 14 November. In her opening statement to MEPs she said: “25 000 [deaths] per year is simply unacceptable. We should share the objective of halving the number of road deaths and serious injuries by 2030 compared to 2020.” Later at the same hearing, […]
ETSC has welcomed a number of aspects of the EU’s ten-year action plan on road safety, published in June. But ETSC also suggests, in a briefing published earlier this month, that a number of areas will require bolder action in order to reach the ambitious targets set out in the Commission’s plan. The ETSC report highlights the following elements of the Commission’s proposals that are particularly welcome: A new target to halve road deaths between 2020 and 2030 as well as, for the first […]
In June 2019, the European Commission adopted the EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030,[1] outlining specific policy measures planned for 2021-2030 and developing on the EU Strategic Action Plan on Road Safety published in May 2018.[2] This briefing reflects ETSC’s first assessment of these initiatives with suggestions for further development and implementation. This document refers mainly to the measures addressed by the European Commission in these latest documents. An earlier ETSC briefing, published in February 2018 as input to the Commission’s preparatory process, contains […]
Local authorities across Europe have until 16 December to apply for the first ever EU Urban Road Safety Award, launched as part of this year’s European Mobility Week. The awards recognise the crucial role that towns and cities across Europe play in improving road safety, especially in light of the fact that 38 percent of road deaths and more than 50 percent of serious road injuries occur on urban roads. The award rewards local authorities for adopting holistic measures to improve road safety, within […]