Road-death reduction ‘must be priority’

By Peter Chapman

Date: 06/05/04

THEY might be doing well in terms of economic growth.

But when it comes to carnage on the roads, most of the Union's ten new countries are in a league of their own - thanks to shoddy roads, old cars, dangerous drivers and poor road traffic enforcement.

Worst of all are the Baltic countries.

According to the latest complete data for the EU-25, Latvia, with 219 deaths per million, was the most dangerous country, followed by Lithuania (203). Poland is next worst at 151, just ahead of another Baltic death black spot, Estonia (146).

That compares to an EU-15 average in 2002 of 105 deaths per million.

European Commission experts say the Baltic States' appalling record is due to the fact that these countries were an integral part of the Soviet Union until recently.

And, it is true, that other countries, such as Slovakia (114), Hungary (121), Cyprus (129), the Czech Republic (130) and Slovenia (140) appear to be much closer to the EU average. For Malta, with 385,000 inhabitants, its 41 deaths per million is not deemed to be statistically significant.

However, aides to Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio - who grumble that road safety is not taken seriously enough in the new member states - say the data masks the true picture.

For example, Hungary and the Czechs have similar accident rates to Belgium.

But car ownership figures are roughly half those in Belgium. In crude terms, that means each car is responsible for twice as many accidents.

Max Mosely, president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, the group which governs motorsport, fears enlargement will tip the EU over the 50,000 deaths per year mark, up from around 35,000 per year in the old EU-15.

Death rates shot up after the end of the Cold War, notes Mosely. These figures began to stabilise but have increased again recently, thanks to rising economic growth, which has led to increased car ownership, he says.

There is some good news. The EU has at least started to give road safety the attention it deserves. Countries which, five or six years ago, would have shouted that this is none of the EU's business, are finally warming to the idea of taking concerted action on the road safety front.

The Union committed to a road safety action plan devised to cut the annual death rate to 20,000 by 2010.

The Irish EU presidency and the motor industry launched a "road safety charter" in Dublin last month aimed at raising safety issues up the agenda.

European funds are available for projects aimed at publicizing safety issues across the Union - such as local versions of Belgium's successful "Bob" campaign. (Bob is the driver who volunteers to stay sober while his friends drink alcohol.)

A call for tender has just been launched, devoting just under €12 million for projects to promote road safety. Winning candidates are expected to find half of the cost of projects themselves, probably from national budgets.

Meanwhile, France is the best example of how proactive policy can make drastic cuts in road deaths. Until recently, drink-driving and speeding were as much a part of the French culture as baguettes and vin rouge.

New laws, better enforcement and hundreds of electronic speed detectors have transformed the country's driving mentality - and cut the death-toll by 2,000 per year.

Pan-EU enforcement of traffic infringements remains a blind spot in the system.

Currently, speeding foreigners often escape fines because cooperation between governments is poorly developed - although many countries already have bilateral agreements with their neighbouring states.

But EU justice and home affairs officials are looking at ways to improve coordination to ensure fines eventually land on the doormats of foreigners when they break traffic rules on trips abroad.

At the same time, justice officials are examining ways to target the increasing numbers of drivers suspected of driving under the influence of drugs, such as cannabis or amphetamines.

Experts say that drugs tests are less reliable than alcohol tests because traces of substances can remain in the urine for up to a week.

Despite the efforts, Max Mosely insists much more needs to be done to push safety to the top of the EU agenda.

"If a terrorist organization announced that it was going to kill 50,000 of our fellow citizens next year, to eliminate by violence 137 people every day, what would the European Council decide to do?

"Would they add the subject as a minor part of a commissioner's portfolio, authorize the establishment of a modest unit within a DG [directorate-general] and ask it to report back in 2010? I don't think so.

"The response would be on a par with 9/11, it would be overwhelming. So should it be for 50,000 road deaths."

Article looks at the problem of road safety in the ten 'new' Member States.