Europe’s approach to tackling road safety is in trouble. The EU, and its Member States, have agreed on targets to cut road deaths by half in the decade to 2030. But, according to the current trend, deaths are set to fall by only a quarter. There were 20,400 road deaths in the EU last year – down just 1% on the previous year.  While this is a 10% reduction since 2019 – the baseline for the 2030 target – the downward trend has flat-lined in several Member States and risen in others. At European level, there is an urgent need for strong leadership and action on road safety to get things back ..read more

Italy’s new road traffic law is headed to the Senate this month but campaigners across the country have strongly criticised the changes, which include restrictions on local authorities from setting up new 30 km/h speed limits, cycle lanes and speed cameras. ETSC’s Executive Director Antonio Avenoso said: “This law, if passed in its current form, could set Italy back for years.  The country’s congested cities need to encourage more cycling and walking, both through safer speed limits and more dedicated infrastructure.  It makes absolutely no sense for the central government to prevent ..read more

Municipalities and cities will be able to implement speed reductions more easily in the future in Austria.  The legal changes are scheduled to come into force on 1 July. It was already possible for cities and municipalities to set speed limits in Austria. However, the prerequisite was extensive reports that had to explain the need for speed reduction in a very bureaucratic way.  The amendment to the road traffic regulations is intended to bring the following change: in the future, the responsible road authority will be able to reduce the maximum permitted speed in local areas an ..read more

ETSC has welcomed a political agreement reached earlier this month between the European Parliament and the Member States on an update to rules on the enforcement of road traffic rules across EU borders. Current EU rules on cross-border enforcement have helped increase compliance with road safety traffic rules by non-resident drivers. Nonetheless, in 2019 still some 40% of cross-border offences were committed with impunity, either because the offender was not identified or because payment of the fine was not enforced. The new directive addresses these issues with new provisions improving cooper ..read more

The EU institutions have finally reached a political deal on the platform work directive after over two years of negotiations. The new law could improve working conditions for millions of workers employed by digital platforms, but currently classified as self-employed, such as delivery riders and drivers. The European Trade Union Confederation welcomed the deal. Ludovic Voet, Confederal Secretary of the ETUC, said:“Today’s decision means that millions of people working through digital platforms will no longer be cheated out of the minimum wages, sick pay, holiday pay and social security.” The ..read more

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

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

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

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

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