2015 a milestone for EU Road Safety Action Programme

The workshop to discuss the preparation of the interim evaluation of the Road Safety Action Programme 2011-2020, organised by the European Commission's Road Safety Unit, was attended by the main stakeholders involved in road safety, including the European Road Federation (ERF).
December 22, 2014 Read time: 2 mins

The workshop to discuss the preparation of the interim evaluation of the Road Safety Action Programme 2011-2020, organised by the European Commission's Road Safety Unit, was attended by the main stakeholders involved in road safety, including the European Road Federation (ERF).

The ERF presented its recommendations to achieve the 2020 targets from an infrastructure perspective, focussing on three areas: Establishment of minimum safety performance for road infrastructure elements in the TEN-T (road markings and signs, road safety barriers); Improvement of data collection and data availability; Adaptation of road infrastructure to the needs of vulnerable road users.

Next year will be a milestone for road safety in Europe as the ten-year action plan reaches its midpoint. The action plan's main goal is to reduce the number of fatalities on Europe's roads by 50 per cent by 2020 compared to 2010 levels. To achieve this, seven strategic objectives have been identified: education and training of users, enforcement, infrastructure, safer vehicles, ITS and vulnerable road users.

There is a broad consensus that the European Commission has played a key role by coordinating actions and boosting national initiatives. The importance of exchange of best practices, creation of platform for specialists, working groups, standards or technical harmonisation was stressed during the discussions.

The need to improve the safety of vulnerable road users was also highlighted, including not only motorcyclists, but also cyclists, especially in urban areas. A better coordination between different Commission departments could also facilitate the exploration of horizontal synergies and links between policy areas.

In addition to the assessment of the first five years, participants also looked ahead until 2020. In this sense, discussions focused on the road user perspective (i.e. education and training, first-aid training, enforcement) and technical developments (i.e. infrastructure, ITS, active safety, emergency care issues, etc).

Urban Traffic Control

Related Content

  • Hyperloop: from sci-fi to transport policy
    April 16, 2020
    The future is here. While it has long looked like something from a sci-fi movie, Graham Anderson investigates a technology whose time might have come.
    Read More
  • TfL under pressure as motorcycle deaths rise
    March 8, 2016
    According to a recent report by the London Assembly Transport Committee report into motorcycle safety, Easy Rider: Improving motorcycle safety on London roads, around 17 per cent of those injured on London’s roads and 24 per cent of serious casualties are motorcyclists, despite this mode accounting for one percent of traffic. After a period of decline it appears the number of motorcyclist casualties in London is growing again. In 2010, 4,337 motorcyclists were injured on London’s roads. By 2014, this had gr
    Read More
  • TISPOL conference sheds new light on VRUs
    June 2, 2016
    Geoff Hadwick reports on TISPOL’s efforts to protect vulnerable road users. At its annual conference in Manchester, TISPOL, the pan-European roads police organisation, called for the better protection of vulnerable road users. The statistics show a worrying trend as, since the turn of the century began, it is only the passenger car sector that is reducing its share of the overall EU fatality stats. Cyclists, motorcyclists and the elderly are all continuing to see their share of the figures worsen.
    Read More
  • EU proposes minimum of 8 million EV charging points by 2020
    January 29, 2013
    The European Commission has unveiled measures to boost the deployment of alternative fuels, including electricity and hydrogen, in EU transport. Under the Clean Power for Transport package, the Commission proposes a minimum number of recharging points per country with common standards for interoperability throughout the EU. Even though alternative fuels, such as electricity and hydrogen are available in the market, there are several obstacles that prevent their wider deployment. According to the European Co
    Read More

Highlighted Content