Barrot to unveil road safety plans

The European Commission will next week launch a bid to improve safety standards on thousands of kilometres of EU roads. The proposal would require more systematic checks and audits by member states at all stages throughout the process of planning, designing and constructing the EU’s trans-European networks.

The initiative, to be launched by Jacques Barrot, European commissioner for transport, would, it is estimated, save up to 600 lives and reduce by 7,000 the number of accidents with injuries per year.

A Commission source said that, despite existing national standards, member states failed to perform crucial road checks. National authorities should be carrying out safety audits and safety inspections at all stages.

The European Union Road Federation (ERF), which represents road-users and engineers, is backing the proposal for a directive. "The directive will be instrumental in reducing the performance gap between EU countries," said Brendan Halleman, ERF’s director of operations.

At the same time, the Commission will issue proposals for a directive on so-called blind spot mirrors for heavy goods vehicles. This measure is aimed at protecting vulnerable road-users such as cyclists and motorcycle drivers, who tend to fall outside the line of drivers’ vision. Every year 400 road users die in such accidents.

According to the mid-term review of the third road safety action programme, published in February, the EU is failing to meet its self-imposed target set in 2001 of halving the number of road deaths by 2010. Until now, road deaths have only dropped by 17-18%.

The European Commission will next week launch a bid to improve safety standards on thousands of kilometres of EU roads. The proposal would require more systematic checks and audits by member states at all stages throughout the process of planning, designing and constructing the EU’s trans-European networks.