Tag: road safety

The European Parliament´s internal market and transport committees have adopted a non-binding resolution calling for all new cars to be fitted with eCall devices to alert rescue services in case of crashes by 2015.

European Union drivers who commit major traffic offences abroad will be punished in their home country upon return under a law approved by the EU's transport ministers yesterday (2 December).

The European Parliament's transport committee yesterday (9 September) backed plans to make it easier for national authorities to fine drivers from other EU countries for offences committed on their territory, such as speeding and drink-driving.

A draft regulation, due to be presented by the Commission on Friday (23 May), seeks to impose the fitting of advanced safety features on all road vehicles in a bid to cut the number of road deaths in Europe, according to an early copy of the text seen by EurActiv.

As most member states fail to make any significant progress on reducing the number of road deaths and as Europe's congestion and pollution problems worsen, the Commission says that more should be done to exploit the potential benefits offered by integrating information and communication technologies into all vehicles.

Reversing the positive trends in reductions in road casualties in recent years, the number of road deaths and serious injuries has risen in the majority of European countries over the past few months, according to a new survey conducted by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) among its member clubs.

New rules on vehicle manufacturing standards, backed by the Parliament on 10 May 2007, should raise environmental and safety measures while making it easier for producers to sell their vehicles across the 27 EU member states.

Parliament pushes for Commission action, but calls for an EU-wide speed limit and universally stricter alcohol restrictions were rejected.

Of the 41,000 deaths on European roads each year, 13,000 to 17,000 are caused by drunk drivers. Tackling this issue is becoming a priority for the EU, NGOs and the alcohol industry.

Blind-spot mirrors are to become mandatory for all European trucks and member states will have to upgrade their highways, according to new proposals from the Commission. 

Car Free Day aims both to reduce the use of cars and to improve road safety. But, recent figures suggest that much more must be done to reduce the number of fatalities on EU roads. The European Transport Safety Council says potentially life-saving new technologies are under-used.

Following reports of serious and fatal accidents involving the use of mini-motorbikes, the Commission has sent a letter to all 25 Member States urging them to take action against the unsafe products.

Most EU countries are currently off-track on their objective to halve the number of road deaths by 2010, according to a mid-term Commission report. Meanwhile, hi-tech cars emerge as a new priority in EU road safety policy.

Several road transport associations have warned that member states will not make the 5 August deadline for the introduction of digital tachographs to record the speed and duration of truck journeys.

A campaign to reduce the number of casualties on European roads is being launched throughout Europe by the Red Cross. At the same time, road organisations and vehicle manufacturers are calling for better road engineering to improve safety.

EU transport ministers have formulated an ambitious road safety strategy aimed at halving the number of people killed and injured by 2010. Devices to limit vehicle speed could be introduced in the future.

Cette étude donne une vue d'ensemble de la sécurité routière en Europe et met en avant le rôle et les perspectives de l'UE dans ce domaine.

On 2 July, the European Parliament adopted a resolution pushing the Commission to align EU provisions on rear-view mirrors with the United Nations Economic Committee for Europe (UN/ECE) Regulation in this area.

On 11 June, the Parliament's Transport Committee adopted a first reading report on the Commission's proposal for a new directive on pedestrian safety.

The EU wants to increase road safety through the use of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). In that context, the Commission presented on 15 September 2003 a set of measures to develop safer and more intelligent vehicles with the aim of halving the number of deaths from road accidents by 2010.

During a public debate organised by the Forum for the Automobile and Society, representatives of both public and private sectors discussed about the challenges of increasing road traffic, car ownership and car manufacturing in the future Member States.

By the end of January, the Commission is expected to present a new proposal for a framework directive on pedestrian protection.