ETSC sets European road safety agenda

The European Transport Safety Commission (ETSC) is hopeful that coming elections will result in a political leadership keen to address European road safety. The ETSC has identified speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, infrastructure safety and the safety of vulnerable road users as priority areas for action during the mandate of the next European Parliament. Antonio Avenoso, ETSC executive director said, "Action in all of those areas carries significant potential to prevent deaths and
November 22, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
The 5801 European Transport Safety Commission (ETSC) is hopeful that coming elections will result in a political leadership keen to address European road safety. The ETSC has identified speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, infrastructure safety and the safety of vulnerable road users as priority areas for action during the mandate of the next European Parliament. Antonio Avenoso, ETSC executive director said, "Action in all of those areas carries significant potential to prevent deaths and serious injuries on EU roads. ETSC strongly believes future MEPs should support new policies, as well as the extension of existing initiatives, in these areas to address the most significant risk factors on EU roads," said Avenoso.

Successive EU Parliaments, including the outgoing one, have historically been strong road safety advocates. It will be instrumental that current MEP candidates also make road safety a priority for the 2014-2019 mandate. “There is both a moral and a financial imperative for EU decision-makers to strive towards the highest levels of road safety and to reduce intra-EU differences in risk on the roads,” said Avenoso. “The societal savings which can be unlocked through the reduction of the numbers of deaths and injuries are considerable, certainly outweighing the necessary investments to improve road safety,” he added.

Reaching the EU 2020 road safety target will depend in part also on the activities of newly elected MEPs, who must support and fuel the stepping up of efforts to improve road safety, both at the national and EU level. Moreover, reducing the number of road deaths is but part of improving road safety overall. Future MEPs should push the 2465 European Commission to follow up on the ‘First Milestone Towards a Serious Injury Strategy’ paper with a detailed roadmap of actions and a target for reducing the number of serious injuries on EU roads. “As deaths and serious injuries are two sides of the same problem, the same level of ambition should be shown in setting a target for both indicators. ETSC has proposed a 35% reduction target for serious injuries over the 2014-2020 period,” said Avenoso.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Concern over decline in Europe’s road safety
    March 31, 2016
    An increase in road fatalities and serious injuries has been recorded for 2015. This has become clear following the publication of the European Commission’s 2015 provisional road safety figures. The data reveals an increase in fatalities compared to the previous year. And even in 2014, there was only a 0.6% reduction, and it had been the first year for some time without a significant drop in deaths and injuries. This stagnation means that the EU is further away from its goal of halving road deaths by 2020.
    Read More
  • Enforcement lack affects safety on Europe’s roads
    June 17, 2016
    Insufficient police enforcement across Europe is damaging road safety, according to the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC). Two reports available through the ETSC say that a fall in the level of police enforcement of traffic offences is contributing to Europe’s failure to cut the numbers dying in road collisions. More than 26,000 people died on EU roads last year, the first increase since 2001 according to the ETSC annual road safety performance index (PIN) report. Exceeding speed limits, drink or
    Read More
  • The European Parliament votes to accept Pan-European enforcement
    February 11, 2015
    In a landmark move, the European parliament has voted to approve Pan-European enforcement of traffic laws. This will allow police forces across Europe to share information on foreign motorists who break road traffic rules. No longer will offenders be able to dodge fines and other penalties for driving offences while committed abroad. The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) and TISPOL – the European Traffic Police Network have both welcomed this move Non-resident drivers account for approximately 5% of
    Read More
  • Europe's road safety gains
    July 12, 2012
    Impressive gains have been made in Europe in reducing road deaths, but it is unlikely EU targets will be met as planned. As Portugal prepares to host the 16th International Road Federation (IRF) World Road Meeting next year it can reflect on the impressive gains it has made in cutting road deaths.
    Read More

Highlighted Content