European Commission - Page 4
The European Commission has published a list of 19 lifesaving safety technologies that could be made mandatory on new vehicles in the next update of EU vehicle safety rules expected next year. The European Transport Safety Council welcomes the announcement but says several critical areas for action are missing, and the proposed timescale is far too long considering that most of the technologies are already available today. 26,000 people die on European Union roads annually, with at least 135,000 suffering life-changing injuries. Progress on […]
Newly-published research carried out for the European Commission recommends that the EU should set a target to reduce the number of people seriously injured in road collisions. 135,000 people were seriously injured on European roads in 2014, according to figures published by the European Commission for the first time in April. While the number of deaths on European roads has fallen dramatically over the last decade, serious injuries have declined at a much slower rate. Official targets to reduce road deaths have been in […]
The Catalan Traffic Service and the European Transport Safety Council organised the first YEARS National event in Barcelona to debate on the dangers and policy recommendations for young road users in the European Union. Good practice and effective measures adopted by EU Member States were promoted and disseminated during the national conference in order to raise awareness among stakeholders and spur on national administrations to take action and reduce the number of young people killed on the roads. Download the agenda (in English) Download the agenda (in Spanish) Presentations […]
The European Commission has opened a public consultation on maritime safety as part of its ‘refit’ deregulation exercise. The consultation exercise will cover areas of legislation including investigation of accidents, vessel traffic monitoring and minimum training for ship crew. The Commission says the ‘Fitness Check’ of EU maritime legislation will ‘identify any excessive burdens, inconsistencies and obsolete or (cost) ineffective measures in the policy area being considered’. The deadline for submissions is 8 January. https://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/maritime/consultations/2016-refit_en
ETSC is calling on the European Commission to come forward with a long-awaited target to reduce serious road injuries. The European Commission, for the first time, published a figure in April for the number of people seriously injured on Europe’s roads : 135,000 in 2014. According to ETSC data, the numbers have declined much more slowly than the number of deaths in recent years. ETSC has long argued for the need for a separate pan-European target to reduce serious road injuries, to complement the […]
Common statement signed by 177 European and national Civil Society Organisations and Trade Unions, ahead of the EU27 Summit in Bratislava on 16 September 2016. A new Europe for people, planet and prosperity for all Europe is at a crossroads, and the future of European cooperation and the benefits it brings are at stake. This is about the future of our society and how we want to be viewed by the wider world. The future of our planet and the k ind of Europe our children will […]
An independent report on the EU’s law on the cross border enforcement of traffic rules recommends further action to ensure non-resident drivers are sanctioned for offences committed outside their home country. The evaluation, carried out for the European Commission, found that overall the law is justified in terms of EU added value, is cost-effective, relevant and improves enforcement and awareness of traffic rules for cross-border drivers. But the report also says that implementation has been hampered by delays to the law’s adoption and implementation. […]
This paper builds on recent calls for the European Commission to come forward with a cycling strategy for the European Union. ETSC also supports the need for co-ordinated European action on cycling and would welcome a pan-European strategy. This paper is designed to serve as inspiration for the safety component of such a strategy. Cyclists represent 8% of all road deaths in the European Union but big disparities exist between countries. Cyclists (like pedestrians) are generally unprotected and are vulnerable in traffic. As active travel […]
Renaissance Hotel, Brussels ETSC and the Flemish Foundation for Traffic Knowledge organised a lunch debate on cycling safety in light of the EU’s forthcoming cycling strategy. Cyclists represent 8% of all road deaths and big disparities exist between countries. Moreover, since 2010 the reduction in the number of cyclist deaths has slowed down markedly. The safety of unprotected road users should therefore receive special attention from policymakers at the national and European levels. As active travel is being encouraged for reasons of health and environment, […]
Since 2010 the number of people seriously injured in the EU has been reduced by just 1.6%, compared to an 18% decrease in the number of road deaths in the same group of countries. The majority of countries have reduced road deaths at a faster pace than seriously injured since 2001. In 2014, more than 203,500 people were recorded by the police as seriously injured on the roads in the EU, representing an increase of almost 3% compared to 2013. There is strong political […]
Around 100 MEPs from across the political spectrum have now backed the call by ETSC and more than 70 road safety organisations for a serious road injury reduction target for Europe. The MEPs, representing some 20 Member States, have signed a European Parliamentary written declaration in support of the target, others have until 18 April to join the call. Earlier this month, ETSC and FEVR – the European Federation of Road Traffic Victims met with Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission to ask […]
In response to the dieselgate scandal, the European Commission last month proposed major changes to the oversight of the technical environmental and safety compliance checks new car models must undergo before being approved for sale on the European market. The proposal designed, in the Commission’s words, ‘to correct the flaws in the system’ has three stated aims: Reinforce the independence and quality of testing that allows a car to be placed on the market; Introduce an effective market surveillance system to control the conformity […]
Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission met earlier today with road safety and road victims groups to discuss the future of European road safety targets. Representatives of the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) and the European Federation of Road Traffic Victims (FEVR) presented the President with a banner representing the ‘Let’s Go’ campaign, which calls for a new European target to reduce serious road injuries, alongside an existing target to reduce deaths by half by 2020. More than 200,000 people suffer life changing […]
A new film from ETSC makes the case for making overridable Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) a standard feature on all new vehicles in Europe. The five-minute video has been launched as the European Commission continues work on the development of the next generation of vehicle safety standards, expected to be launched later this year. A major study for the Commission published last year by consultants TRL found that Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) is one of several new vehicle technologies that are now suitable for […]
EU health ministers have formally called on the European Commission to launch a comprehensive EU strategy dedicated to the reduction of alcohol-related harm by the end of 2016, following a similar request from the European Parliament in April. The last EU-wide alcohol programme officially ended in 2012 and has not been replaced. Ministers said the strategy should tackle the health, social and economic consequences of the harmful use of alcohol and focus on initiatives with a cross-border dimension. The Council also called upon member […]
Better data collection on the role of distraction in collisions across the EU and a standardised interface to fix and connect mobile devices to the car dashboard are two of the recommendations of a new report on countermeasures for in-vehicle distraction for the European Commission. The study, by TRL, TNO and Rapp-Trans, published last month says data on how many collisions involve distraction is poor but experts estimate that it plays a role in 10-30% of them. The authors suggest promoting ‘Distracted by device’ […]
The European Commission has published its review of the ‘Road Safety Policy Orientations’ (RSPO), a strategy published in 2010 with the objective of reducing road deaths by 50% by 2020. The progress report consists of a set of three documents: a European Commission Staff Working Document, an Interim Evaluation Report and a study commissioned to independent expert Jeanne Breen. ETSC welcomed some of the key priorities of the review including infrastructure safety, vulnerable road users, vehicle safety and traffic law enforcement. However, there a […]
Briefing: European Commission Interim evaluation of the Policy orientations on road safety 2011-2020
In June 2015, half way to 2020, the European Commission published its review of the ‘Road Safety Policy Orientations’ (RSPO), a framework with the objective of reducing road deaths by 50% by 2020 published in 2010. The review consists of a set of three documents: a European Commission Staff Working Document, a European Commission Interim Evaluation Report and a study commissioned to independent expert Jeanne Breen. In 2010 the road safety community had hoped for, and expected, a new EU 10-year action programme providing […]
A long-promised EU strategic target to reduce serious road injuries has been dropped from a major European Commission review of the region’s road safety policy published yesterday. The European Transport Safety Council is calling on ministers at today’s Transport Council meeting in Luxembourg, to ask the Commission to come forward with the target as promised. ETSC’s analysis shows that more than 200,000 people suffered life-changing injuries in road collisions last year – an increase of 3% since 2013. The watered-down language published in a […]
More than 70 experts and representatives of road safety organisations and victims groups from across Europe together with 12 members of the European Parliament have written to President Jean-Claude Juncker urging him to reverse a decision to drop the announcement of a new EU target to cut serious road injuries. The letter was sent yesterday, ahead of Thursday’s meeting of national transport ministers in Luxembourg where the target was set to be announced. The European Transport Safety Council has learnt that the announcement of […]