Infrastructure safety
Plans to revise EU infrastructure safety rules have been postponed a number of times. In this paper, ETSC presents recommendations for the upcoming revision of the road infrastructure safety management (RISM) Directive 2008/96 and Tunnel Safety Directive 2004/54.
2016 was the third consecutive poor year for road safety: 25,670 people lost their lives on EU roads compared to 26,200 the previous year – a 2% decrease. But this followed a 1% increase in 2015 and stagnation in 2014. In addition, around 135,000 people were seriously injured on European roads in 2014 according to European Commission estimates based on the MAIS 3+ standard definition of a serious injury. Road collisions give rise to huge costs to society. A recent study estimated the value […]
The European Commission’s working group on Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (the C-ITS platform) has published its Phase II Final Report, which includes a number of recommendations for prioritising road safety. C-ITS encompasses sharing of data from transport infrastructure to vehicles, and from vehicle to vehicle. The technology can support drivers but will also develop as a complement to automated and autonomous vehicles. The platform’s road safety working group, of which ETSC was a participant, set out a list of priority C-ITS services with higher […]
Joint safety operations involving tunnel and open road safety experts are possible, useful and their costs could be low if well planned, according to the final report of ECOROADS, a pan-European project looking at possible synergies between tunnel and open road safety regimes. The EU-funded ECOROADS (Effective and Coordinated Road Infrastructure Safety Operations) project aimed to overcome the barrier established by interpretation of two separate sets of European rules on road infrastructure safety management and tunnel safety inspections. The current rules do not require […]
Final Project Conference, Brussels, Thon Hotel EU, 10 May 2017, 09:00 – 14:30 The ECOROADS (Effective and Coordinated Road Infrastructure Safety Operations) team has the pleasure to announce the project’s final conference presenting the results of this two-year Horizon 2020-funded research project. In the presence of the European Commission (DG MOVE) and European road research stakeholders, this conference will present the results of the tunnel testing sites as well as the final guidelines. Download the agenda. For directions to the venue, click here. Download […]
A major new highway was inaugurated in Greece earlier this month running between Corinth and Patra. One of the tunnels along the route has been named in memory of Panos Mylonas, whose death in 2004 in a road crash inspired the creation of the road safety organisation RSI Panos Mylonas, ETSC’s long-standing member organisation in Greece. Vassiliki Danelli-Mylona, Panos’s mother and the organisation’s founder told Greek media: “It’s a special moment, very emotional for us and a vindication that strengthens us and gives us […]
A third of road deaths in the EU happen in collisions that involve a single motorised vehicle where the driver/rider and/or passengers are killed but no other road users are involved. These Single Vehicle Collisions (SVCs), and how to prevent them occurring, are the subject of a new report from ETSC, published today. Nearly 7300 road users lost their lives in 2015 in SVCs in the EU with around 100,000 such deaths occurring over the last ten years according to the data revealed in […]
A third of road deaths in the EU are caused by collisions that involve a single motorised vehicle where the driver, rider and/or passengers are killed but no other road users are involved. These single vehicle collisions (SVCs), and how to prevent them occurring, are the subject of this report. Nearly 7300 road users lost their lives in 2015 in SVCs in the EU. Around 94,800 people have died in such collisions in the last ten years. Across the EU, the total number of […]
In a referendum held on 23 June, a majority of citizens of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. The decision, if carried through with the commencement of the Article 50 procedure of the treaty of the EU, may have far-reaching consequences for the areas of policy covered by European Union law, including transport safety. There is currently a great deal of uncertainty about the kind of relationship the UK will have with the remaining member states, and the legal framework that […]
25 May 2016, Wednesday, 9.30 – 16.00 The EU House, Korte Vijverberg 5-6, the Hague, the Netherlands The Institute for Road Safety Research (SWOV), the Forum of European Road Safety Research Institutes (FERSI) and the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) had the pleasure to hold an international high level debate “Prevent crashes, reduce injuries, save lives”. The debate focused on cyclist safety, vehicle automation, road safety research challenges and the importance of road safety performance indicators in policy making. Participants – government representatives, local authorities, researchers, […]
2 June 2015 is International Level Crossing Awareness Day. Antonio Avenoso, Executive Director of ETSC said: “It is wrong that hundreds are still dying unnecessarily every year in Europe at level crossings. In the long run, we need to replace them with bridges and underpasses. But right now, much more can be done. High-risk level crossings must be identified from the data and prioritised for infrastructure improvements. And we need better enforcement and education to get the message across that level crossings can still […]
A major review of EU road infrastructure safety management legislation has found that the impact has been positive for road safety in a number of key areas. Extending the legislation to cover national roads as well as the trans-European road network currently covered would also save more lives according to the analysis. A number of countries are already doing this. The report found that many countries have not encountered difficulties in the application of the directive. Furthermore, evidence suggests that Member States with poorer […]
New safety technologies could play a major role in bringing the numbers killed on European motorways down, according to the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), authors of a new report published today. The new analysis of developments in motorway safety shows that, despite recent progress, around 1900 were killed on motorways in the EU in 2013. The report cites figures from several countries showing that up to 60% of those killed in motorway collisions were not wearing a seatbelt. The authors call on the […]
Motorways are the safest roads by design and regulation. Nevertheless in 2013, around 1,900 people were killed on the motorway network in the EU, representing 7% of all road deaths. Nearly 27,500 people have died on motorways in the EU in the last ten years 2004 to 2013. Nevertheless progress has been made. Across the EU the number of people killed on motorways was cut by 49% between 2004 and 2013 (compared to 44% on the rest of the road network). Over the same […]
Six engineering students from Spain, Italy and Germany are the winners of a European-wide competition to inspire young people to develop and implement safety improvements for cycling in their local areas. The winners of the Bike Pal Awards, presented today by MEPs at an event in Brussels are: 1st Prize – Cristina Medina Martinez and Sergio Torres Gomez – Polytechnic University of Valencia Presented by Inés Ayala Sender MEP 2nd Prize – Stefano Grillo and Giorgio Wetzl – Polytechnic University of Milan Presented by […]
A survey by ETSC of the main political groups in the European Parliament ahead of this month’s elections has found universal support for measures to cut deaths and the more than 300,000 serious injuries that occur on Europe’s roads each year. But the research also revealed differences across the political spectrum on which road safety measures should be introduced at the European level. ETSC welcomed the support for concrete measures to cut serious injuries, which have been falling at a slower rate than deaths. The […]