Parliament in feeble push to cut road deaths 

The directive approved by Parliament on 19 June is a watered-down version of the Commission's original proposal on the safety management of road infrastructure, which foresaw that member states would have to carry out mandatory road-safety impact assessments and audits for all infrastructure projects. It also demanded routine safety inspections of roads and roadworks, yearly evaluations of the network and the use of intelligent road signs and telematics services to help prevent accidents and accelerate the arrival of emergency services. 

But due to concerns that all this would put too much administrative pressure on national authorities, MEPs watered down the text so that none of these provisions are now binding. Instead, they are simply to serve as "guidelines" – a move condemned as "short-sighted" and "irresponsible" by road organisations including the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) and the European Union Road Federation (ERF). 

MEPs however took a stronger stance on improving pedestrian safety on 18 June, backing an EU regulation with increased safety requirements to be observed by manufacturers of cars, SUVs and light goods vehicles. Basically, the text requires that all new passenger cars be equipped with ABS braking-assistance systems within two years of the law's application – rather than the 33 months proposed by the Commission. MEPs further rejected Commission proposals to allow heavier cars, such as SUVs, more time to comply. New performance tests for frontal protection systems on cars will also become compulsory in an attempt to reduce the number of pedestrians and cyclists killed (8,000) and injured (300,000 ) across the EU each year. 

MEPs also adopted an own-initiative report calling on car manufacturers to make advanced safety technologies, such as anti-skid electronic stability control (ESC) equipment, cheaper and available to all. The Commission presented legislation to this effect in May (EurActiv 23/05/08). 

The EU first set itself the aim of cutting the number of deaths on European roads in 2001, targeting a reduction from roughly 50,000 fatalities a year to 25,000 by 2010. However, with over 41,000 deaths in 2007, it appears increasingly unlikely that the target will be met.