European Union transport ministers have formally agreed to set the target of halving the number of people seriously injured on EU roads between 2020 and 2030.
Announced today (8 June), the new target is part of a new European Council publication called ‘council conclusions’, which looks at existing practice and outlines ways in which member states should look to improve road safety.
The document says road safety performance should not only be measured by counting road deaths, but by the number of ‘no less worrying’ serious injuries that occur each year.
Today’s announcement is ratification of proposals first announced following an EU meeting on 29 March.
While the announcement has been ‘warmly welcomed’ by the European Transport Safety Council ( ETSC), its executive director Antonio Avenoso says ‘meaningful measures’, such as vehicle safety standards, need to be updated if the EU is serious about achieving the target.
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The document also includes a focus on increasing levels of cycling and walking, and calls on member states to develop more dedicated infrastructure to achieve this. It also covers effective enforcement and enhanced cooperation between member states.
Antonio Avenoso said: “We warmly welcome today’s commitment to a long term target to tackle deaths and, for the first time, serious injuries on EU roads.
“But if the EU is serious about meeting this goal, meaningful measures are needed now. EU vehicle safety standards have not been updated since 2009 despite rapid advances in technology that can help drivers keep within speed limits and avoid collisions.
“Every day of delay will lead to more unnecessary deaths and serious injuries on our roads."
The ETSC says ministers are also calling on the European Commission to develop a new road safety strategy for the decade 2020-2030.
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