10,000 killed on rural roads in the EU in 2022
ETSC | European Transport Safety Council
by dudley
23h ago
National governments will need to invest significantly to improve the safety of rural roads in order to hit a collective EU target to cut road deaths by half by 2030, according to a new report published today by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC).  The report shows that around 10,000 people died on rural, non-motorway roads in the EU in 2022 – accounting for around half of all road deaths. Rural roads can be dangerous, compared to other road types.  They often lack central and side barriers and allow for large speed and weight differences between the vehicles that use them ..read more
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Reducing Road Deaths on Rural Roads (PIN Flash 46)
ETSC | European Transport Safety Council
by Maria Meinero
23h ago
In 2022, some 10,000 people died on the rural roads of Europe – more than half of all road deaths. Rural roads can be dangerous, compared to other road types. They often lack central and side barriers, and allow for large speed and weight differentials between the vehicles that use them, from lorries to vulnerable cyclists and pedestrians. Single-vehicle crashes, where a fatigued driver misjudges a turn and runs off the road, are common. Head-on collisions frequently occur, and are often lethal. Rural roads can and are being made safer with interventions that do not need to be costly. Road saf ..read more
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EU set to approve ‘hands off’ level 2 driving systems despite safety fears
ETSC | European Transport Safety Council
by dudley
1w ago
The EU’s Technical Committee on Motor Vehicles (TCMV) will meet behind closed doors today to vote on whether to approve two ‘hands-off’ level 2 driver assist systems from Ford (‘BlueCruise’) and BMW for use across the EU. These systems do not meet current EU safety regulations but will be permitted under an exemption procedure. ETSC is very concerned that these systems bring no safety benefits and are even more likely to cause driver disengagement / distraction than current systems because ‘hands-off’ systems encourage the sense that the vehicle is in full control, when it is not, leading to d ..read more
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EU auditors say EU road safety progress is ‘barely moving’
ETSC | European Transport Safety Council
by dudley
2w ago
The European Court of Auditors has warned in a new report that the EU and its member states will need to ‘move their efforts up a gear’ to reach targets of halving road deaths and serious injuries by 2030.   The EU’s external auditors spent almost a year analysing the bloc’s current road safety efforts and visited four EU member states to carry out checks.  While commending the EU’s overall strategic approach, they warn that implementation is lacking or non-existent in several key areas.  Eva Lindström, the ECA member who led the audit said in a media briefing that progress ..read more
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European Parliament backs megatrucks – big lorries, big mistake
ETSC | European Transport Safety Council
by dudley
2w ago
The European Parliament has voted to support the expansion in the number of extra-long and extra-heavy lorries on EU roads, with serious potential consequences for road safety.   The parliament voted today on a proposal published in July last year by the European Commission to update EU rules on weights and dimensions of lorries.  The updated new rules will simplify the legal framework for longer and heavier vehicles, which are currently allowed only under certain conditions as part of trials.   Graziella Jost, Project Director at ETSC commented: “Big lorries are a big mist ..read more
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Opinion – Will Foreign Drivers Continue Getting Away with Breaking the Law?
ETSC | European Transport Safety Council
by dudley
2w ago
Ellen Townsend – Policy Director Almost ten years ago, after years of legal wrangling, the EU finally did a deal on a law that would enable Member States to enforce traffic offences committed by foreign-registered drivers across borders.  It was a big deal, especially for countries with a lot of tourist or transit traffic.  However, the first law was fairly limited in scope and only applied to a handful of offences.  So ETSC welcomed a proposal from the European Commission last year to increase the coverage to include not just speeding and drink-driving, but also other dangerous ..read more
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European Parliament vote on teenage lorry drivers is a wrong-turn for road safety
ETSC | European Transport Safety Council
by dudley
1M ago
The European Parliament’s position on revised rules for driver licences in the EU, agreed in Strasbourg today, will have severe negative consequences for road safety according to the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC). ETSC is most concerned about the proposal to require all EU Member States to introduce an accompanied driving scheme for 17-year-old lorry drivers. The current recommended minimum age for this category of vehicle in the EU is 21, though several countries allow 18-year-olds to drive HGVs under certain conditions. Research by the German Insurance Association (GDV) shows that ..read more
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As Germany legalises cannabis, DVR warns on drug-driving enforcement
ETSC | European Transport Safety Council
by dudley
1M ago
ETSC’s German member organisation DVR has written to the federal transport minister warning of the need to tighten enforcement of drug-driving in light of the legalisation of cannabis. The legal limit is expected to be set by 31 March 2024 with the law coming into force on 1 April 2024. The law currently does not differentiate between relative and absolute unfitness to drive. DVR is concerned that drivers caught driving under the influence of cannabis will only be required to subject themselves to a fitness to drive assessment in the case of ‘repeat offences’.  DVR says that the rules sho ..read more
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Call for breath tests to detect drivers under the influence of nitrous oxide
ETSC | European Transport Safety Council
by dudley
1M ago
ETSC’s Belgian member VIAS institute is calling for the development of a breath test to detect when a driver has consumed nitrous oxide, known as ‘laughing gas’.   Nitrous oxide has become an increasingly popular recreational drug in recent years. It is also found more and more often on board cars involved in crashes. To date, there are few reliable figures on the number of crashes caused by taking the substance. But in the Netherlands, the Dutch police have officially recorded, between 2019 and 2022, 700 serious or fatal crashes probably caused by the consumption of laughing gas. Ni ..read more
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Heavier cars will pay more to park in Paris from September
ETSC | European Transport Safety Council
by dudley
1M ago
Paris will introduce significantly higher parking fees for heavier vehicles from September following a referendum on the issue earlier this month. Vehicles weighing over 1600kg (2000 kg for electric cars) and owned by non-residents will have to pay the higher charges.   A study by the VIAS institute last year which analysed four years of crash data for Belgium found that in a collision between a car weighing 1600 kg and a lighter car weighing 1300 kg, the risk of being killed increases by almost 80% for the occupants of the lighter car. When the mass is increased by 300 kg, the risk ..read more
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