Infrastructure safety
Figures published earlier this month by Statistics Netherlands show that cyclists account for an increasing share in the number of road deaths. While the number of fatal car crashes has fallen dramatically since 2000 in the Netherlands, the number of fatal bicycle collisions continues to hover around 200 per year. In the past two years, more cyclists than motorists have been involved in collisions. In 2021, 582 people died in […]
The European Commission has proposed new rules governing the Trans-European Transport (TEN-T) networks, which include the major roads and motorways that crisscross the continent. The major piece of legislation, which covers many aspects of rail, air, maritime and road transport in the EU, also touches on road safety in a number of areas. One update is to ensure so-called TEN-T roads meet the standards for safety set out in the […]
The European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly to back a document setting out the institution’s views on the EU road safety strategy for the next ten years. The Parliament’s report follows the publication of the European Commission’s ten year road safety plan published back in June 2019, and an outline of planned legislative measures announced in the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy published in December last year. MEPs have endorsed the overall EU […]
MEPs on the European Parliament’s transport committee have voted through a document setting out the institution’s views on the EU road safety strategy for the next ten years. The Parliament’s ‘own initiative follows the publication of the European Commission’s ten year road safety plan published back in June 2019, and an outline of planned legislative measures announced in the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy published in December last year. Overall strategy MEPs […]
A broad coalition of almost 40 organisations has called on the next Dutch government to deliver a new road safety strategy in The Netherlands. Launched on 22 April, the Verkeersveiligheidsmanifest 2.0 or Road Safety Manifesto 2.0 says the ambition for Vision Zero by 2050 is good, but interim targets are needed to help achieve that goal. The coalition calls for an 11% annual reduction in road casualties. The coalition also […]
The transition period is over and a deal has been done. What will the implications be for road safety regulation and cooperation now that the UK has left the EU and a new trade deal has been signed? The biggest changes are where no agreement was reached and/or EU rules no longer apply to the UK. The EU legislation on cross-border enforcement of traffic offences no longer applies, meaning the […]
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 […]
The European Investment Bank has agreed to co-finance a EUR 470 million nationwide programme to reduce death and injury caused by traffic collisions across Greece, the first investment of its kind by the EIB. The EUR 235 million financial support agreed between the European Investment Bank and the national road operator Egnatia Odos will reduce the risk of collisions in Greek cities, rural areas, mountain districts and on Greek islands. […]
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 […]
The European Commission and the European Investment Bank have launched a new initiative to help public authorities and the private sector access funding and loans for road safety. The “Safer Transport Platform – Road Safety Advisory” provides a single access point to the full range of existing EIB and EC advisory services and financial products. It guides potential applicants to the appropriate funding and financing instruments. The service is supported […]
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). […]
Palace of the Parliament, Izvor Street 2-4, Bucharest, 20-21 March 2019, The Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Ministry of Transport of Romania and the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) organised the International Road Safety Conference in Bucharest on 20-21 March. The two-day event gathered representatives of the European Commission, international experts, national authorities, private business environment, NGOs from Romania and abroad. The conference provided the […]
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 […]
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 […]
Industry and transport ministers from the 28 EU Member States have set out their official responses to three key pieces of road safety legislation. ETSC welcomed the position of the Council of the EU on new vehicle safety measures but is worried that new rules on road infrastructure safety management and revised professional driver working hour regulations will be weakened unless the European Parliament argues successfully for a stronger position […]
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 […]
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 […]
Introduction Improving infrastructure is a cornerstone of road safety and will be critical to achieving the EU’s new road safety targets for 2030 and implementing a Safe System approach across the road network. The road system should be safe for use by every road user in every EU member state. We, the undersigned, welcome the current revision of the Road Infrastructure Safety Management Directive 2008/96 (RISM) and call for 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 […]
On 17 May 2018, the European Commission published a large package of transport policy proposals known as the ‘Third Mobility Package’ including some very significant measures to improve road safety in the European Union. 25,300 people died on EU roads in 2017, a figure that has hardly budged in four years. The road safety package should help substantially reduce this figure if combined with efforts at national and local level. […]