ETSC highlights European safety improvements

The European Transport Safety Commission’s (ETSC) 16th Road Safety Report measures progress made in EU countries since 2001 in tackling excessive speed, drink-driving and non-use of seat belts (the three biggest causes of road fatalities). It is published as the EU discusses priorities for the forthcoming Road Safety Action Programme for the next ten years. Available data shows that drivers have slowed down since 2001. Best progress has been made on highways (only up to 30% of drivers now exceed the speed l
May 30, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
The 5801 European Transport Safety Commission’s (ETSC) 16th Road Safety Report measures progress made in 3287 EU countries since 2001 in tackling excessive speed, drink-driving and non-use of seat belts (the three biggest causes of road fatalities). It is published as the EU discusses priorities for the forthcoming Road Safety Action Programme for the next ten years.

Available data shows that drivers have slowed down since 2001. Best progress has been made on highways (only up to 30% of drivers now exceed the speed limit) but violations are still up to 70% on rural roads (as much as 80% on urban roads).

France is the only country to have achieved considerable reductions in mean speeds on all types of roads. Great Britain and Austria recorded reductions in mean speeds on both urban roads and highways.

Key factors in achieving progress were automated speed enforcement schemes based on safety cameras and stricter sanctions through penalty point systems and higher fines.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • US road safety concern for 2017
    February 23, 2018
    The US is making only slow progress with regard to road safety. During 2017 there were 40,100 road deaths, according to the National Safety Council. This is the second year that deaths from motor vehicle crashes have topped 40,000. There has been a slight improvement for 2017 from 2016 with road deaths dropping 1%. However 2016 was a poor year for road safety, with a 6% gain in road deaths over 2015. This means that the figures for 2017 represent a 6% increase in road deaths from two years before in 2015.
    Read More
  • Weigh-in-motion key to maximising road life
    February 24, 2012
    The market and technology for weigh-in-motion systems continues to evolve – Mike Woof writes. for both mature and developing highway infrastructure networks, traffic densities play an important role in determining road wear and life. Monitoring traffic volumes and individual vehicle weight is crucial for ensuring roads can cope in the long term and that maintenance can be planned, while the problem of overloading can be eliminated.
    Read More
  • Japan’s safer roads see casualties fall
    January 10, 2018
    Japan has seen its road safety levels improve significantly in 2017, compared with the previous year. Data compiled by Japan’s National Police Agency shows that there were 3,694 traffic fatalities in the country in 2017, a drop of 210 from the previous year. There were 1,171 pedestrian fatalities, a drop of 1% from the previous year. Meanwhile vehicle occupants accounted for 1,106 deaths and 436 cyclists were killed in crashes. According to the authorities, tougher enforcement of road traffic rules played
    Read More
  • Riding the sustainable cycle
    October 5, 2020
    It’s taken a while in North America, but “vehicular cycling” has been replaced by “sustainable cycling”, says transportation engineer Tyler Golly.
    Read More

Highlighted Content