EU activities on road safety

The European Commission proposed on June 2003 a package of measures aimed at improving road safety through a better enforcement of road safety rules.

The package includes a proposal to update and enhance existing common rules for standard checking procedures in the professional road transport sector as well as a recommendation to Member States on enforcement of road safety measures.

On the same issue, Transport Ministers from the current and future Member States met in Verona (Italy) for an informal Council meeting on road safety, on 23-24 October. The city was also hosting the first International Road Safety Exhibition.

Max Mosley, Euro NCAP Chairman and FIA President, addressed the participants to the exhibition and welcomed the EU Road Safety Action Plan and the proposal to launch a Road Safety Charter.

Mr Mosley reminded that 40,000 people are dying every year on our roads and 1.7 million are injured. And he pointed out that "despite a clear and unambiguous legal base, road safety has a low priority among the EU institutions."

"There is also a major problem of coordination between Directorate Generals within the European Commission. This results in policy delay, confusion and conflict."

He gave numerous examples that demonstrate that there is something fundamentally wrong with the way in which road safety is dealt with by the EU.

Please find attached Mr Max Mosley’s speech.

 European Road Safety action programme adopted by the Commission in June 2003

 Link to Commission press release.

 First «European accident-free night» sponsored by the Commission