Brake has urged the UK Government to ensure that ‘life-saving regulations and standards’ are maintained and improved upon during the process of leaving the European Union (EU).
Brake says the vote to leave the EU ‘must not be seen as a move backwards’ when it comes to road safety and sustainability. The charity adds that the UK’s road safety expertise must be used ‘as widely as possible’ to save lives.
Brake says a number of EC regulations have a positive impact on road safety and sustainable transport in the UK, including vehicle crash protection standards, driver working hours and air pollution limits.
Brake points to three regulations in particular:
1. General Safety Regulation EC 661/2009 on vehicle standards: which sets out specifications to ensure the general safety of motor vehicles and trailers.
2. Pedestrian Safety Regulation EC 78/2009: which provides crash protection for pedestrians and other vulnerable road users.
3. Regulation (EC) 561/2006 and Directive 2002/15/EC: which provides a common set of rules for maximum daily and fortnightly driving times, as well as daily and weekly minimum rest periods for all drivers of road haulage and passenger transport vehicles.
Brake also says the EU provides valuable opportunities for traffic enforcement and transport research agencies across the union to share best practice and knowledge.
Gary Rae, Brake’s director of communications and campaigns, said: “It’s vital that as we begin the process of separation from the EU, road safety and work on sustainable transport solutions is not compromised.
“Thousands of lives have been saved by improved transport regulations. Life outside the EU must not be seen as a move backwards when it comes to safety and sustainability. That will be down to the UK government to ensure that our own standards meet, and indeed, exceed, current European standards.”
Charles (five posts below this one)
For me, you generalise too much in your post. The UK does, to a very large extent, already ‘set its own road safety agenda’. And much of the work carried out by organisations such as TRL, Thatcham and some of our universities and road safety teams is ‘scientifically sound’ and ‘evidence based’. I’m not saying all is perfect in the world of road safety, but in no way are we totally reliant on ‘political, populist or pseudo-scientific methods’ as your post implies.
Nick Rawlings, editor, Road Safety News
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Rod, over the last few years the number of Road Safety Officers in many London boroughs has already been trimmed back to the bone or done away with completely. And that was long before Brexit.
The UK can and will stand on its own feet and our excellent safety record will prevail.
VB
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I suspect that the real pressure from a Brexit would come from the resulting austerity further squeezing local authority budgets. That would not only affect the number of road safety officers but also the funding available for other road safety initiatives.
Reduced business miles for freight and commuting may well be a factor to reduce casualties, but a more right leaning government may also have a negative effect. On the other hand, increased fuel prices may well contribute to slower driving to conserve fuel.
These are dangerous times indeed. But I fear the real danger is in the bigger picture.
Rod King, Cheshire, 20’s Plenty for Us
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Perhaps, outside the EU we can remove those dangerous speed limiters on trucks and thereby reduce the accidents caused by these limiters and the 90km/hr speed limit imposed by the bureaucrats of Brussels.
Robert Bolt Saint Albans
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Given that the UK has the safest roads in the world along with Sweden – I don’t think we have much to learn from the EU or the wider world – so Brexit, if it actually happens isn’t particularly relevant to road safety in the UK. It would, however, free the UK from directives and legislation from an anti-democratic EU.
Paul Biggs, Staffordshire
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Freed from EU red tape, the UK may decide to set its own road safety agenda and, perhaps, take the opportunity to trigger a step-change in casualty reduction by concentrating on scientifically sound evidence-based, rather than political, populist or “pseudo-scientific” methods.
Charles, England
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Agreed. Brexit should not be a reason to lower road safety standards in the UK and there is no reason to expect it to do so. It is also true that sometimes UK laws (e,g. consumer protection) have been in danger of being lowered for commonality to EU standards. The knife cuts both ways.
Pat, Wales
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