Safer roads and vehicles with new European standard

New EU rules covering road infrastructure safety and minimum vehicle safety have been given approval in the European Parliament. The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) is now calling for the EU to reach a final deal on both pieces of legislation. The European Parliament’s Transport committee voted to approve an update to rules governing road infrastructure safety management. The existing requirements ensure governments carry out regular road safety audits, identify high-risk sites and prioritise s
January 11, 2019 Read time: 3 mins

New 3287 EU rules covering road infrastructure safety and minimum vehicle safety have been given approval in the European Parliament.  The 1197 European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) is now calling for the EU to reach a final deal on both pieces of legislation.

The European Parliament’s Transport committee voted to approve an update to rules governing road infrastructure safety management. The existing requirements ensure governments carry out regular road safety audits, identify high-risk sites and prioritise safety when building new roads. However, the rules only apply to major European roads known collectively as the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).

The European Commission proposed an update that would extend the rules to all motorways, all “primary roads” and all non-urban roads that receive EU funding. ETSC and other organisations have been calling for all main urban and rural roads to be included as well, because more people die in collisions on these types of roads than on motorways.

The backing of the Commission’s proposal to cover primary roads offers higher potential safety benefits than that of the EU Member State transport ministers.

The European Commission also proposed that performance standards for road signs and road markings across Europe should be developed. A high standard and consistency of road signs and road markings across Europe could be an important issue for higher levels of automation, when cars increasingly take away control from the driver under certain circumstances.

Minimum road safety requirements for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists are also being proposed. The existing legislation, which mainly covers motorways, does not make special provision for these groups.

The final shape of the rules will only be decided following a vote by the full European Parliament and final negotiations with transport ministers.

The Transport committee also voted in support of a package of new vehicle safety measures.  The update to the EU’s General Safety Regulation for motor vehicles includes a number of new mandatory technologies such as Automated Emergency Braking (AEB) and an overridable form of Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA), to help drivers keep within the speed limit.  

In addition t eCall, an automated emergency calling system fitted to all new cars and vans in the EU, looks likely to be fitted to lorries and buses in the future.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • European Transport Safety Commission makes call for traffic safety boost
    July 10, 2015
    In 2013, 7,600 people died in road traffic while cycling or walking in European Union (EU) countries – the equivalent of a commercial airliner full of passengers being lost every week Because of this risk of death, the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) wants vehicle manufacturers and local authorities to pay special attention to improving safety for cyclists, walkers and pedestrians. In a new report, the ETSC said the numbers being killed are falling more slowly than those for vehicle occupants. Over
    Read More
  • Concern at European road safety issues
    March 24, 2015
    The European Commissioner of Transport, Violeta Bulc, has announced EU road safety statistics for 2014 that give some cause for concern. In 2014 there were a total of 25,700 road deaths across all 28 Member States of the EU. Road fatality figures differ widely among Member States. The figures indicate only a 1% improvement since last year, meaning that significantly more effort will be needed from Member State governments in order to reach the Commission's goal to halve the number of road deaths between 201
    Read More
  • EU missing target of halving road deaths by 2020, says ETSC
    April 12, 2018
    Halving the number of deaths on Europe’s roads by 2020 is not likely to be achieved, according to the European Transport Safety Council. The 28 members of the European Union reduced the number of road deaths by 20% from 2010-2017, far less than the 38% cut needed to stay on course to meet the 2020 target. The European Commission has just published data showing that deaths on EU roads fell by only 2% last year, following a similar decrease in 2016 and a 1% increase in 2015. “For four years in a row, the
    Read More
  • EU road safety plan to cut casualties
    May 23, 2018
    The European Commission has announced a major package of road safety measures. These include new targets, in a bid to cut road deaths and serious injuries in half by 2030. New car safety standards will make life-saving technologies such as Automated Emergency Braking and overridable Intelligent Speed Assistance a standard feature on all new vehicles. At present these features are only available as an option on some models. The Pan-European policing body TISPOL has welcomed this package of measures, which
    Read More

Highlighted Content