Report - A9-0211/2021Report
A9-0211/2021
European Parliament

REPORT on the EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030 – Recommendations on next steps towards ‘Vision Zero’

22.6.2021 - (2021/2014(INI))

Committee on Transport and Tourism
Rapporteur: Elena Kountoura

Procedure : 2021/2014(INI)
Document stages in plenary
Document selected :  
A9-0211/2021
Texts tabled :
A9-0211/2021
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Texts adopted :

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

on the EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030 – Recommendations on next steps towards ‘Vision Zero’

(2021/2014(INI))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Commission staff working document of 19 June 2019 entitled ‘EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030 – Next steps towards “Vision Zero”’ (SWD(2019)0283),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 9 December 2020 entitled ‘Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy – putting European transport on track for the future’ (COM(2020)0789),

– having regard to Directive (EU) 2015/413 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 March 2015 facilitating cross-border exchange of information on road-safety-related traffic offences[1] (Cross-Border Enforcement Directive),

– having regard to Directive 2006/126/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on driving licences[2] (Driving Licence Directive),

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 on type-approval requirements for motor vehicles and their trailers, and systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles, as regards their general safety and the protection of vehicle occupants and vulnerable road users[3] (General Safety Regulation),

– having regard to its resolution of 27 April 2021 on the implementation report on the road safety aspects of the Roadworthiness Package[4],

– having regard to the Council conclusions of 8 June 2017 entitled ‘road safety – endorsing the Valletta Declaration of March 2017’,

– having regard to the Stockholm Declaration of 19-20 February 2020 made during the Third Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety,

– having regard to the Council declaration of 7 October 2015 on cycling as a climate friendly transport mode, signed by EU transport ministers at an informal meeting in Luxembourg,

– having regard to Rule 54 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A9-0211/2021),

A. whereas every year around 22 700 people still lose their lives on EU roads and around 120 000 are seriously injured; whereas more than 11 800 children and youngsters up to the age of 17 have been killed in road traffic collisions in the EU over the last 10 years; whereas progress in reducing EU fatality rates has stagnated in recent years and, as a result, the target to halve the number of road deaths between 2010 and 2020 was missed; whereas the above figures represent an unacceptable human and social price for EU citizens and whereas the external cost of road crashes in the EU represents around 2 % of its annual GDP;

B. whereas the EU is being confronted with new trends and challenges in automation that could have a huge impact on road safety; whereas the growing phenomenon of distraction by mobile devices needs to be addressed; whereas in the near future, the presence of both vehicles with a wide range of automated/connected features and traditional vehicles in mixed traffic will pose a new risk, especially for vulnerable road users such as motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians;

C. whereas technological advances, connectivity, automation and the sharing economy provide new opportunities for road safety and for tackling congestion, especially in urban areas; whereas developing the synergies between safety and sustainability measures and pursuing the modal shift towards public transport modes and active mobility could lead to lower CO2 emissions, improve air quality and help develop more active and healthy lifestyles;

D. whereas passengers in cars rated five stars in the latest tests for the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) had a 68 % lower risk of fatal injury and a 23 % lower risk of serious injury than passengers in two-star-rated cars;

E. whereas the share of road deaths of vulnerable road users is increasing, as car users have been the main beneficiaries of improved vehicle safety and other road safety measures; whereas the weight, power and top speed of new cars sold in the EU is increasing, posing greater risks to road safety; whereas the safety of motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians must be urgently addressed;

F. whereas although they only account for 2 % of the total number of kilometres travelled, powered two-wheeled vehicles are responsible for 17 % of the total number of road fatalities; whereas there are significant disparities between countries; whereas the EU should give priority to taking further action to improve the safety of these vehicles over the next decade;

G. whereas according to a Commission study, only 8 % of fatalities occur on motorways, while 37 % occur in urban areas and 54 % on rural roads; whereas new investment and proper maintenance of existing infrastructure throughout its life cycle are key to road safety;

H. whereas not all accident victims are reported, which distorts the statistics available; whereas effective testing methods need to be developed to determine the actual number of road accident victims;

I. whereas ensuring and enforcing the safe behaviour of road users, such as travelling at the right speed, using protective equipment like seatbelts and crash helmets, not driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and driving, riding and walking without distractions, is key to preventing and mitigating fatal road crashes;

J. whereas there are gender, age and social inequalities at play in mobility and road safety;

K. whereas achieving the new EU road safety targets requires more intensive cooperative efforts to develop strong European road safety policies with stakeholders, research and innovation support in order to prepare policy-based solutions based on solid data and impact analysis, as well as more and better targeted national enforcement measures and effective cross-border cooperation on the enforcement of penalties;

L. whereas 40 to 60 % of all work-related fatalities are road accidents that occur during work or while commuting to work; whereas driver fatigue is common on EU roads;

M. whereas the implementation of the national road safety plans and the new EU road safety policy framework requires stable and sufficient financial resources both from the Member States and the EU budget;

EU road safety policy framework 2021-2030 – next steps towards Vision Zero

1. Welcomes the fact that the EU has reaffirmed in the 2021-2030 EU road safety policy framework its long-term strategic goal to get close to zero deaths and zero serious injuries on EU roads by 2050 (Vision Zero), and its medium-term goal to reduce deaths and serious injuries by 50 % by 2030 in line with the Valletta Declaration; highlights that these EU goals and targets relating to road safety should be underpinned by a coordinated, well-planned, systematic and well-financed road safety approach at EU, national, regional and local level;

2. Welcomes, in this regard, the adoption of the safe system approach at EU level, based on a performance framework and timed targets for the reduction of casualties and serious injuries; welcomes the setting up of key performance indicators (KPIs) established in cooperation with the Member States to enable a more focused and targeted analysis of the Member States’ performances and to identify shortcomings; calls on the Commission to set outcome targets by 2023; underlines the importance of the ongoing cooperation between the EU and the Members States in this regard and urges all Member States to fully commit to this exercise and agree on a harmonised methodology for KPIs that will allow Member States to compare data; calls for a detailed roadmap for EU action against which performance can be measured and delivery made accountable to specific bodies;

3. Believes, however, that there is room for improvement on the above-mentioned KPIs and urges the Commission to consider extending these indicators and updating them in its EU strategic action plan on road safety; believes that the KPI for protective equipment should be complemented by a KPI that collects exposure data according to travelling distance and time for all road users, broken down by modal share and road type in order to better understand the different risk ratios and dangers involved; calls on the Commission to continue working closely with the Member States to define a KPI for road infrastructure, indicating the safety quality of a road network independent of road user behaviour or vehicle technology, based on an agreed common rating methodology; regrets the fact that KPIs for vehicle safety disregard the safety of powered two-wheeled vehicles; calls on the Commission to draw up a vehicle safety index for L-category vehicles and underlines the need to include therein all KPIs for L‑category vehicles;

4. Highlights that EU funding is crucial for investing in sustainable and smart road safety solutions and accelerating the delivery of road safety results across the EU; calls on the Commission to safeguard and increase EU investment in road safety across all the relevant EU financing programmes, including in research and innovation; calls on all Member States, furthermore, to earmark a suitable amount of their national budgets which, coupled with EU funding, should make it possible to implement their national road safety programmes and the new EU road safety policy framework for 2021-2030; calls on the Member States to create national road safety funds as mechanisms for collecting fines under their traffic codes and redistributing the money raised for road safety; calls on the Commission to extend to all Member States the EU Road Safety Exchange programme, which is designed to improve road safety performance but currently focuses on just six Member States;

5. Encourages the Member States to establish national observatories for road safety to collect, process and maintain national road safety databases; asks the Member States to align their national road safety strategies with the objectives of the EU road safety policy framework for 2021-2030 and to address the related shortcomings as soon as possible;

Safe infrastructure

6. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to prioritise investments that deliver the greatest benefits in terms of road safety, devoting particular focus to zones with the highest number of accidents, including investments in maintaining existing infrastructure as a priority and in the construction of new infrastructure, where necessary; welcomes the fact that the Connecting Europe Facility for 2021-2027 provides for financing in safe and secure infrastructure and mobility projects, including road safety; calls on the Commission to further promote EU funding opportunities through the Connecting Europe Facility, regional and cohesion funds, InvestEU and the Safer Transport Platform launched by the European Investment Bank (EIB), especially in Member States with a relatively poor road safety performance; stresses the importance of making the eligibility criteria for those instruments clearer for road safety actions; calls on the Commission to support and encourage Member States to invest in a safer, more sustainable, resilient and multimodal transport network through their national recovery and resilience plans; calls on the Commission to set out in the revision of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) Regulation[5] the bases for future road safety investment decisions, including the implementation of a core network monitoring plan on maintenance at EU level;

7. Highlights that a proactive assessment of the EU road network will be a useful tool for assessing the inbuilt safety of roads and for targeting investment; welcomes, in this regard, the risk mapping and safety rating of motorways and primary roads introduced in the recently revised EU infrastructure safety rules[6] and calls on the Member States to designate as many primary roads in their territory as possible to increase the road safety potential of the new directive; calls on the Member States, in accordance with the directive, to establish national systems for voluntary reporting, which should be accessible online and available to all road users, in order to facilitate the collection of data of occurrences transmitted by road users and vehicles and any other safety-related information perceived by the reporter as an actual or potential hazard to road infrastructure safety, with a view to ensuring that EU citizens make a transparent, immediate and direct contribution to safety; calls on the Commission and the Member States to agree as soon as possible on a methodology to carry out systematic network-wide road assessments as mandated by the revision of the above-mentioned act, including any aspects that are important for the safety of active road users;

8. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to expedite work on EU specifications for the performance of road signs and markings in order to prepare the ground for greater vehicle automation; recalls the importance of the performance of road signs and markings, including their placing, visibility and retro-reflectivity, in particular for the effectiveness of driver assistance systems such as intelligent speed assistance and lane keeping systems; highlights the importance of using infrastructure to build self-explaining, self-enforcing and ‘forgiving’ roads for the safety of all road traffic participants, in particular in dangerous areas or areas with a significant number of vulnerable road users;

9. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to devise quality requirements for walking and cycling infrastructure in order to address the insufficient level of safety for active road users; calls on the Commission to draw up common EU curricula for road infrastructure auditors and inspectors, including specific training on the needs of vulnerable road users, as part of its new forum of European road safety auditors;

10. Notes that road users with reduced mobility and other disabilities have special needs that should be taken into account when planning and constructing new road infrastructure; calls on the Member States to underpin investments in projects aimed at making road infrastructure inclusive and accessible for everyone;

11. Notes that in accordance with the last revision of EU infrastructure safety rules, the Commission is obliged to consider revising Directive 2004/54/EC on minimum safety requirements for tunnels[7] by 2021 and to consider adopting a new legislative proposal on minimum safety requirements for bridges; calls on the Commission to further improve the safe use of tunnels by, inter alia, organising awareness-raising campaigns and carrying out the relevant studies;

12. Encourages the Commission and the Member States to establish an expert group for drawing up a road classification framework that better matches speed limit to road design and layout, in line with the safe system approach;

13. Calls for measures to further strengthen road safety in urban nodes and suburban and rural areas and to improve operational safety throughout the life cycle of critical infrastructure such as tunnels and bridges, while also considering the use of new monitoring technologies for vulnerable infrastructure, and to define specific safety objectives and quality requirements in the forthcoming revision of the TEN-T Regulation;

14. Calls on the Member States to acknowledge the importance of a modal shift towards active modes such as walking and cycling and of sustainable public transport modes as important tools to reduce danger on roads, and to allocate adequate investments to this end; welcomes, in this regard, the launch of the Safer Transport Platform initiative, which explicitly calls for better facilities for sustainable transport, including for cyclists and pedestrians, and for accident mitigation projects; calls on the Commission and the EIB to launch awareness-raising and information campaigns in order to ensure that all interested parties are well informed about the conditions and consider its use;

15. Calls for increased synergies between the European cycle route network EuroVelo and the TEN-T to make cycling infrastructure safer and better connected; stresses the importance of ensuring continuous walking and cycling paths in TEN-T projects where feasible; calls on the Commission to encourage the reconversion of disused railway lines and to actively support bike-train projects and intermodality; notes that new forms of infrastructure such as advanced stop lines, bike boxes, cycle streets or cycle highways offer new possibilities for safe active mobility; highlights the need to work to harmonise and enforce the rules on road signs and signals in order to avoid confusion and increase safety and ease of use;

16. Believes that the Commission should do its utmost to ensure that the cycling and walking infrastructure deployed by the Member States as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic remains in place and is expanded in order to further promote safe active travel;

17. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to work closely with regions and cities to complete any missing last-mile infrastructure and intermodal and cross-border connections throughout the TEN-T, thereby ensuring a more seamless and efficient use of infrastructure and services and improving road safety;

Safe vehicles

18. Welcomes the recent revision of the General Safety Regulation, which will make new advanced safety features in vehicles such as intelligent speed assistance and emergency lane keeping systems mandatory in the EU as from 2022, with the potential to save around 7 300 lives and avoid 38 900 serious injuries by 2030; calls on the Commission to adopt ambitious and timely secondary legislation, which should also require high-performing intelligent speed assistance systems to be fitted in all new vehicles; calls on the Commission, in this regard, to consider the practical application of making it compulsory to equip motorcycles with these systems and the feasibility, acceptability and possible implications for road safety of next-generation intelligent speed assistance for cars, vans, trucks and buses;

19. Recalls the importance of innovation in vehicle technology, which can help to both mitigate the severity of crashes and reduce the likelihood of crashes through active and passive safety features; calls on the Commission to review future passenger vehicle standards in the light of new technological developments and to take into account factors which may affect road safety such as mass, power, speed and frontal area size;

20. Calls on the Commission to make it obligatory to fit motorcycles with anti-lock braking systems in the upcoming revision of the type approval of L-category vehicles; calls on the Commission to extend the categories of vehicles for which installation of eCall is mandatory, with particular regard to powered two-wheeled vehicles;

21. Invites the Commission to further develop the vehicle type approval crashworthiness requirements and include them in future legislative revisions, which should also incorporate the latest criteria of Euro NCAP crash tests that monitor the impact of a collision on other vehicles and vulnerable road users, with the aim of achieving harmonisation of minimum standards and equalising passenger safety;

22. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support cities in setting up speed limit databases in order to promote the deployment of intelligent speed assistance technology, as required by the General Safety Regulation;

23. Stresses that the danger and frequency of accidents between trucks and vulnerable road users could be significantly reduced through the widespread use of turning assistants; highlights that turning assistants will become mandatory for new types of trucks in 2022 and for all new trucks in 2024; calls on the Commission to set up a European action programme on turning assistants to promote the benefits of this technology and encourage stakeholders to voluntarily equip new and existing vehicles with turning assistants as soon as possible; commends initiatives that support the voluntary introduction of mandatory turning assistants; calls on the Commission and the Member States to provide financial support for the installation of turning assistants in new and existing vehicles;

24. Underlines that manipulation and fraud involving electronic safety features such as advanced driving assistance systems pose considerable safety risks and should therefore be addressed by specific training for inspectors on checking software integrity;

25. Calls on the Commission to develop crash test dummy standards that are more representative of a variety of aspects such as age, gender, size and stature for users both within and outside vehicles;

26. Calls on the Member States to provide tax incentives and calls on private insurers to offer attractive motor insurance schemes for the purchase and use of vehicles with the highest safety standards; calls on the Commission to revise the legislation on car labelling in order to include additional information at the point of sale and digitally on the safety rating of new vehicles;

27. Welcomes the requirement for seatbelt reminders for all seats to be made mandatory under the revised General Safety Regulation and calls on the Commission to draw up standards for information requirements on the safety parameters of child restraint systems; calls on the Member States to launch awareness-raising campaigns for parents and guardians on child safety in road transport in order to continue to promote awareness on the need to use seat belts, including in back seats, in view of the safety risks posed to vehicle occupants in many of the vehicles currently in use – and which will remain in use for years to come – that do not have such seat belt reminder technology in place;

28. Urges the Commission, in line with Parliament’s resolution of 27 April 2021 on the implementation report on the road safety aspects of the Roadworthiness Package, to take due account of the technical progress in vehicle safety features provided for in the new General Safety Regulation and to include advanced safety systems in the scope of the next revision of the Roadworthiness Package to ensure they are checked during periodical technical inspections; calls on the competent authorities, in this regard, to ensure additional training, upskilling and reskilling for the inspectors that carry out the periodical technical inspections; calls for more stringent vehicle self-diagnosis requirements in order to prevent malfunctioning advanced driving assistance systems, which are designed to enhance safety, from eventually becoming a hazard;

29. Regrets the fact that the provisions in the Roadworthiness Package relating to the inspection of cargo securing are not mandatory; calls on the Commission to propose strengthening these provisions during the next revision of the package;

30. Stresses that greater efforts are needed to prevent odometer fraud and thus ensure the quality and safety of second-hand vehicles; invites the Member States, therefore, to make use of the odometer reading exchange system developed by the Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE), the EU MOVEHUB platform and its ODOCAR module as a result of the pilot project proposed by Parliament on a European system for limiting odometer fraud (OREL);

31. Calls on the Commission to propose a new harmonised regulatory framework for automated cars in order to ensure, by means of comprehensive tests, including real driving conditions, that automated cars will operate in an absolutely safe manner for their drivers and other road users, in particular concerning their interaction with conventional vehicles and vulnerable road users;

32. Requests that the Commission assess, meanwhile, the risks to road safety of the assisted driving systems currently available, such as driver overreliance and distraction; calls on the Commission to consider introducing a requirement to equip drivers’ mobile and electronic devices with a ‘safe driving mode’ and the standard installation of other technological tools to reduce distractions while driving;

33. Highlights the fact that, as the Commission’s EU strategic action plan on road safety points out, public procurement presents an interesting opportunity to positively influence road safety; calls on the Commission to take explicit account of the fact that the most economically advantageous tenders in the public procurement of road public passenger transport services should be assessed on the basis of the best price-quality ratio, which should also include vehicle safety, innovation, quality, sustainability and social issues; urges the Member States and contracting authorities to consider safety aspects as one of the main criteria when awarding public contracts for road transport services;

34. Notes that new personal mobility devices also raise a number of serious concerns related not only to the safety of the devices themselves, but also to their safe use in traffic; regrets that only a few Member States have introduced legislation on this issue and that the lack of harmonisation in the EU can create confusion and make it difficult for visitors to abide by local rules; calls on the Commission to consider a type approval framework for these new mobility devices and to issue guidelines for Member States on managing safety aspects, including traffic rules for the safe use of such devices; reminds the Commission and the Member States of the need to implement EU and national awareness-raising and education campaigns on the safe use of micromobility devices, with a particular focus on vulnerable road users such as children, older people or persons with reduced mobility; calls on the Commission and the Member States to exchange best practices on how to improve the safe use of micromobility devices;

35. Calls on the Commission to update the requirements of the EU road accidents database (CARE) and to incorporate the identification of collisions of micromobility devices such as e-scooters and other electrically-assisted bicycles; calls on the Member States to implement concrete preventive safety measures at national, regional or local level on the basis of the information in the CARE database;

Safe road use

36. Notes that according to a Commission study, alcohol is estimated to be involved in around 25 % of all road fatalities, while drugs are involved in 15 % of road fatalities[8]; notes that the EU recommendation on permitted blood alcohol content dates from 2001; calls on the Commission to update its recommendations and include a zero-tolerance drink-driving limit framework therein, and to introduce an EU recommendation for zero tolerance regarding illicit psychoactive drugs and standards on roadside drug-driving enforcement; points out that harmonising the permitted blood alcohol levels in the EU for all categories of vehicle will facilitate comparisons under the KPIs relating to sobriety on the roads; calls on the Commission to draw up guidelines on the labelling of medication which affects people’s ability to drive a vehicle and to launch information campaigns to raise awareness of medical services, including family doctors, in this area; calls on the Commission to also include in the revised recommendations guidance on the fitting of alcohol interlock devices, with a special focus on repeat offenders, high-level first-time offenders and all professional drivers;

37. Notes that speeding is a key factor in around 30 % of fatal road crashes and an aggravating factor in most crashes; calls on the Commission to come up with a recommendation to apply safe speed limits, in line with the safe system approach for all road types, such as maximum default speeds of 30km/h in residential areas and areas where there are high numbers of cyclists and pedestrians, with the possibility for higher limits in main arterial roads with appropriate protection for vulnerable road users; calls on the Member States to prioritise investing in speed enforcement and high-quality communication on the centrality of speed and speed management; calls on the Member States to apply penalties to deter speeding, including penalty point systems, and to consider introducing speed awareness courses to rehabilitate repeat offenders;

38. Notes that according to Commission estimates[9], 10 million major road traffic offences in the EU related to speeding, driving through red lights and drink-driving committed by non-residents are detected each year; acknowledges the progress made in setting up a framework for the cross-border enforcement of traffic offences since 2015, yet regrets that the existing framework on cross-border enforcement of traffic offences laid down in the Cross-Border Enforcement Directive does not adequately ensure investigation in order to enforce penalties or recognition of decisions on penalties; believes that better cross-border enforcement of road traffic rules would increase compliance with such rules and act as a deterrent, thereby reducing dangerous behaviour and improving road safety; calls on the Commission, in this regard, to address the above-mentioned issues in the next review of the directive, to assess the issue of mutual recognition of driving disqualifications and penalty points, and to revise the scope of the directive to include toll enforcement in order to prevent dangerous driving and maintain the quality of infrastructure;

39. Recalls that the Driving Licence Directive established a harmonised EU licence model and introduced minimum requirements for obtaining licences; notes that the directive will need to be kept up-to-date regarding new technological developments in vehicle and infrastructure technology and vehicle automation and in training curricula, especially for professional drivers; calls on the Commission to develop minimum standards for driver training and traffic safety education, while gradually aligning the form, content and outcomes of driving courses across the EU, and to consider including in the upcoming revision of the directive the Goals for Driver Education matrix, which has three categories: knowledge and skills, risk-increasing aspects and self-assessment; calls, in addition, for the introduction of a graduated licencing system that encourages novice drivers to gain more experience in higher-order skills such as traffic in sight, self-assessment and hazard perception and to limit certain high-risk activities such as driving at night and with passengers, while taking into account the mobility needs of people living in remote areas and limited access to public transport; calls on the Commission, moreover, to further harmonise the minimum standards for driving and riding trainers, including periodic training, hazard perception training, stricter minimum education and communication skills; notes with concern that irregular issuances of driving licences have been reported in several Member States and calls on the Commission to monitor this issue;

40. Calls on the Commission to assess making theoretical and practical training and tests mandatory to obtaining a driving licence for all categories of powered two-wheeled vehicles;

41. Calls on the Commission to develop KPIs on the provision of traffic safety and mobility education in the Member States, and to develop EU tools to design, implement and evaluate traffic safety and mobility education; encourages all the Member States to ensure the provision of high-quality road safety education, which should begin at school and form part of continued lifelong learning;

42. Notes that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the expansion of the home delivery sector and specifically the use of vans and powered two-wheeled vehicles such as mopeds and bicycles, boosting the emergence of new types of platform work and business models; calls on the Commission to ensure that professional van drivers undergo appropriate training and to address the issue of van drivers’ fatigue and speeding, particularly as a result of the large increase in the number of home deliveries; further calls on the Commission to consider tightening the roadworthiness test regime and introducing the obligation of additional checks for vans used by parcel delivery service providers once a specific mileage has been reached, and to consider extending this obligation to other vehicles in these categories used for further commercial purposes as part of the revision of the Roadworthiness Package; calls on the Commission to come up with a recommendation on the safety of delivery personnel, including requirements for employers and companies to ensure the provision and use of safety equipment and safe vehicles, as well as training in the digital tools they might have to use, such as applications and interactive platforms;

43. Expresses deep concern over driver fatigue in commercial freight and passenger transport as a cause for road accidents; calls on the Commission, in this regard, to ensure that Council Directive 89/391/EEC on the health and safety of workers[10] is implemented properly with regard to road safety aspects; calls on the Commission to introduce a KPI for driver fatigue in commercial freight and passenger transport; asks the Commission and the Member States to increase the number of secure parking areas in the TEN-T and ensure they are adapted to drivers’ needs, and to provide information on their availability through an updated and user-friendly website; calls on the Commission to assess whether the installation of air conditioners or equivalent air conditioning systems for cabins in heavy goods vehicles could have a positive impact on driver fatigue and road safety, given that these systems can run independently from the main engine;

44. Highlights that effective and complete post-crash response includes, in addition to medical care and rehabilitation, the provision of mental and social support, recognition for the victims, and a thorough investigation to identify the causes of crashes and measures to prevent them for reoccurring in the future, as well as criminal and civil proceedings where appropriate; calls on the Member States to establish closer collaboration between their road safety authorities and the health sector to enforce the correct use of emergency corridors to speed up rescue operations; calls on the Commission and the Member States, furthermore, to provide sufficient financing for efficient emergency infrastructure, including air medical services, in particular in remote, mountainous and insular regions; calls on the Commission to make first aid training compulsory in the future revision of the Driving Licence Directive; calls on the Member States to enshrine the concept of emergency corridors in their national highway codes and to launch further awareness-raising campaigns; recalls the importance of effective follow-up victim support;

45. Calls on the Member States to develop their principal trauma networks and to adopt guidelines for mutual cooperation in order to enable emergency care services to deliver patients swiftly, including across borders;

46. Stresses that poor enforcement of road traffic rules undermines efforts to achieve Vision Zero; encourages the Member States to set annual targets for enforcement and compliance in their road safety plans and to ensure their adequate funding, as well as to undertake and publish an annual follow-up analysing the targets achieved and results obtained; underlines that only well-explained, well-publicised and consistent enforcement activities and education by enforcement can have a long-lasting effect on driving behaviour; notes that efficiency is further enhanced if the handling of fines for detected violations is largely automated;

47. Notes that using a mobile phone or other electronic devices while driving or riding significantly impairs driving ability and plays a role in 10-30 % of road collisions; calls on the Member States to introduce effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties for mobile phone use, including non-financial penalties, to raise awareness of the risks involved and to improve enforcement;

A framework fit for the future

48. Highlights that external factors and emerging societal trends present unprecedented challenges to road safety under the EU strategy to 2030 and beyond; notes that the EU should pave the way for connected and automated vehicles to be rolled out in due time and should assess the possible risks of combining such vehicles with traditional vehicles in mixed traffic and vulnerable road users; calls on the Commission to fully assess the impact on traffic in urban areas and on the environment of the greater number of automated vehicles; highlights that it may be necessary to upgrade infrastructure to guarantee that automated and semi-automated vehicles operate safely, while also improving safety for conventional vehicles and thus benefit all road users;

49. Calls on the Member States to set up vehicle scrappage schemes under green conditions in order to incentivise the purchase and use of safer, clean and energy-efficient vehicles and the renewal of public and private vehicle fleets; asks the Commission and the Member States to work with the EIB to study new funding schemes to facilitate investment in safe and sustainable transport services and safe and sustainable vehicle fleets;

50. Points out that data will play a key role in improving road safety; recalls that in-vehicle data is extremely valuable for traffic management, roadworthiness tests and crash analysis; calls on the Commission to set up a framework to access in-vehicle data beyond the repair market in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation[11], solely for the purpose of accident research and roadworthiness tests; stresses, in this regard, the importance of the digital data stored in event data recorders (EDR) for undertaking thorough crash analyses to improve road safety; calls on the Commission to ensure that all data elements relevant to in-depth crash analysis and road safety research (including location, date and time) are required to be recorded and stored by the EDR;

51. Recalls that although road safety is a shared responsibility among all the relevant actors and authorities at EU, national and local level, the EU should exercise strong leadership to ensure that road safety remains a priority in road transport to help close the road safety gap between Member States and ensure that the EU remains a global leader in this domain; stresses the EU’s responsibility to promote cooperation and the exchange of best practices with third countries, such as the United Kingdom, in order to implement the Stockholm Declaration on Road Safety; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that EU road safety policy objectives apply to all the relevant external programming and to develop an effective system for exchanging information on traffic offences with neighbouring non-EU countries to improve enforcement, while ensuring that any sharing of information should be subject to strict safeguards, audits and oversight conditions, in full compliance with the applicable EU rules;

52. Calls on the Commission, in view of the upcoming revision of the Urban Mobility Package, to promote synergies between safety and sustainability measures in urban areas; calls, in this regard, for the reprioritisation of transport infrastructure in urban areas, including the repurposing of public spaces, away from individual motorised transport towards sustainable, safer and healthier transport modes such as public transport, walking and cycling, while taking into consideration the special needs of vulnerable road users, such as children, persons with disabilities and older people; encourages greater investments and co-financing via EU funding instruments for parking and other mobility connectivity zones in the entry of urban areas, providing for easy access to different modes of public transport, in view of the need to reduce urban congestion and CO2 emissions; welcomes the EIB’s intention to support ambitious investment programmes to help public authorities foster sustainable mobility at local and regional level, such as sustainable urban mobility plans and public transport projects; calls on the Commission to better integrate the EU road safety targets and actions into the guidelines on the sustainable urban mobility plans by monitoring and promoting best practices, including establishing an indicator on using EU funding for improve urban road safety effectively;

53. Notes that rural areas account for approximately 83 % of the EU’s territory and are home to 30.6 % of its population; points out that rural areas and sparsely populated areas in particular lack quality transport infrastructure and regular collective public transport services, which has a direct impact on road safety; further notes that 54 % of road deaths in the EU occur on rural roads; highlights that improving accessibility, connectivity and road safety for rural areas should be a part of the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy; calls on the Commission to take account of the latter in its upcoming communication on a long-term vision for rural areas;

54. Highlights the need to promote an integrated approach to accomplish the goals of Vision Zero and to foster intersectoral collaboration, including engagement with NGOs, civil society, and businesses and industry at regional, national and EU level; calls on companies and SMEs, in line with the Stockholm Declaration, to pursue the attainment of road safety by applying safe system principles throughout their value chains, including internal practices in procurement, production and distribution processes, and to include reporting on safety performance in their sustainability reports and on their official websites; further calls on companies and SMEs, where applicable, to offer dedicated road safety training to their drivers, and to consider incorporating the role of a ‘mobility manager’ to coordinate and optimise their company’s mobility needs for the transportation of goods and workers throughout the entire logistics chain;

55. Calls on the Commission to cooperate with the Member States, civil society and other key stakeholders on developing a Europe-wide road safety culture; welcomes the launch of the EU Urban Road Safety Award as part of European Mobility Week and the revamping of the European Road Safety Charter – the largest civil society platform on road safety; calls on the Commission to organise a European Year of Road Safety initiative in the coming years as part of the EU road safety policy framework for 2021‑2030; advocates, moreover, in the context of the European Year of Greener Cities in 2022, the establishment, funding and monitoring of a ‘safer city’ label, which should be based on criteria on the highest road safety standards for all users and more liveable public spaces, including better air quality and reduced CO2 emissions;

56. Acknowledges the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, which is held on the third Sunday of November every year to remember the many millions who have been killed or seriously injured on the world’s roads, to thank the emergency services for their work, and to reflect on the tremendous burden and cost to families, communities and countries of this day-to-day, continuing disaster; formally recognises this day and calls on the European Council and the Commission to do the same by holding an annual event supported by the three institutions;

57. Is of the view that in order to properly implement the next steps in the EU road safety policy under the overarching Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy, some new capacities are needed in the field of road safety, in particular with respect to the coordination, monitoring and evaluation functions and technical support for the overall strategy; calls on the Commission, in this regard, to consider establishing a European road transport agency to support sustainable, safe and smart road transport or – if not feasible – to entrust an existing agency with this task;

°

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58. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.

 


 

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

1. Background and general considerations

Every year nearly 1 million crashes occur in the EU. In 2019 only, there were 23,000 deaths and 12,0000 serious injuries. The weekly number of road deaths in the EU is equivalent to a jumbo jet crashing and killing everyone -around 500 people- on board. Although the EU and its Member States have achieved a substantial progress in road safety during the last decades, the Rapporteur acknowledges that these numbers are shocking and highlight, in the most dramatic way, that road safety must be a priority at political, social and personal level. Besides, these figures represent next-door tragedies and carry a huge cost to society. This is why the EU’s long-term vision is to move as close as possible to zero fatalities in road transport by 2050 (Vision Zero).

The rapporteur firmly believes that our society should no longer accept deaths and serious injuries on the road. Our fundamental right to mobility should not be accompanied by a road death toll and this principle needs to streamline all decision making on road safety. In this regard, the Rapporteur deeply regrets the significant stagnation in numbers concerning deaths and serious injuries on EU roads and since 2013 and that the strategic target of the “Policy Orientations on Road Safety 2011-2020” to reduce road fatalities by 50% between 2010 and 2020 was not met. What is more, disparities in the road safety performance between Member States remain noteworthy and new trends and challenges in our way of living and moving, geared also by technological progress, need to be urgently addressed.

All the above have made prominent that we have a long way to go and great effort is still required before we have moved closer to Vision Zero. In parallel, they have also stressed that a paradigm shift in the way we approach road safety is necessary.

The European Council has already made a step forward towards this direction by endorsing the Valetta declaration in March 2017, reasserting commitments and targets in the area of road safety. Following the Council conclusions, the European Commission adopted a new approach to EU road safety for the years 2021-2030, reaffirming its ambitious long-term vision and setting the targets of reducing by 50% deaths and - for the first time - serious injuries by 2030.
This policy was initially introduced by the Commission in the “Europe on the Move” package and the accompanying Strategic Action Plan on Road Safety, in May 2018. Almost a year after, with the adoption of the EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030- Next steps towards “Vision Zero” the Commission set out how this policy could be translated into action.

The novelty of the new policy framework is the adoption of the so-called “Safe System” approach, which aims at reframing road safety policy by focussing on the prevention of deaths and serious injuries in four core elements: safe vehicles, safe infrastructure, safe road use and better post-crash care, and requires enhanced governance at EU level. According to the “Safe System” approach, deaths and serious injuries are largely preventable even though collisions will continue to occur.

It is therefore due time for the European Parliament to deliver a political resolution on road safety. This report serves as Parliament’s formal response to the above-mentioned Commission’s new approach and its EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030.

In this respect, the Rapporteur welcomes the new Policy Framework, the new targets set and the adoption of the “Safe System” approach. According to the Rapporteur, this Policy Framework accompanied with political will and with coordinated measures at EU, national regional and local level, has the potential to act as a valuable tool in reversing indexes’ stagnation and in delivering safer roads for all, thus improving social welfare.

The report makes an analysis of all aspects of the new policy and provides an assessment on how EU intents to implement the proposed actions, while setting political priorities and suggesting further initiatives at EU and national levels.

In the light of certain upcoming Commission’s legislative initiatives, the Rapporteur calls for the adoption of specific proposals to reinforce road safety on the TEN-T Regulation, the Urban Mobility review, the Driving Licence Directive, the Cross Border enforcement Directive on road safety-related offences and the Roadworthiness Package.

Furthermore, since road safety is a shared competence, further proposals come as an urge to the Commission to adopt recommendations towards the Member States. It is worthy underlining that the Commission recommendations on road safety have proven to be a very valuable tool to drive policy change in Member States.

2. Main issues and the Rapporteur’s position

2.1. EU road safety policy framework 2021-2030 - Next steps towards “Vision Zero”

As stated above, the Report embraces the EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030, the new targets set and the adoption of the “Safe System” approach.

The introduction of a first set of eight key performance indicators (KPIs) will enable a more targeted analysis of Member States’ performances and identify deficiencies. The Rapporteur calls for outcome KPI targets by 2023 and urges Member States and their national competent authorities to fully engage in the collection of these data.

The implementation of the EU road safety policy can only be achieved through the appropriate political commitment and the allocation of adequate financial resources. On this basis, the Rapporteur asks the Member States to designate part of their national budget for road safety and to combine it with EU funds, in order to achieve better results.

2.2 Safe infrastructure

The quality of all road related infrastructures and their in-built safety level is a key factor for road users’ protection. The rapporteur is of the belief that Member States and the European Commission have to prioritise those investments that generate the highest benefit in terms of road safety when they built or when they construct new infrastructures.

What is more, the user of the road has to be aware of the quality and its safety level. An important first step was taken with the risk mapping and safety rating for motorways and primary roads introduced in the recent revision of the EU infrastructure safety rules. However, the Rapporteur stresses that, based on commonly agreed criteria, all European roads must be systematically assessed and rated.

Further, the forthcoming revision of the TEN-T Regulation, shall include measures to further strengthen road safety in urban nodes and improve operational safety throughout the life cycle of critical infrastructure.

2.3 Safe vehicles

Having safer vehicles on the roads is another core element of the “Safe System” approach.
Advanced technical features in vehicles, automation and micro-mobility are among the challenges that that the EU Road Safety policy is called to address.

With the recent revision of the General Safety Regulation, advanced safety features in vehicles, such as Intelligent Speed Assistance and Emergency Lane Keeping System, will very soon be mandatory. The Rapporteur welcomes this revision, calls for ambitious secondary legislation in order to keep pace with technical developments and supports the inclusion of these advanced safety features in the scope of the next revision of the Roadworthiness package. Besides, the Rapporteur stresses the need for a new harmonised regulatory framework for automated cars in order to safeguard that they will operate in a safe manner.

Regarding personal mobility devices, the Commission is asked to deliver a type approval framework for the new mobility devices and to issue guidelines on traffic rules and on their use for Members States.

2.4 Safe road use and enhanced post-crash care

Alcohol is involved in around 25% of all road fatalities and together with speeding is one of the two main killers on the road. Therefore, the Rapporteur takes a clear stance in favour of zero-tolerance drink driving for all drivers. The same principle shall also apply for illicit psychoactive drugs. Accordingly, the report calls for standards on roadside drug driving enforcement.

Regarding speeding, the Rapporteur is of the view that safe speed limits, in line with the Safe System approach, must apply for all different road types. A very good example is the maximum speeds of 30km/h in residential areas and areas where there are high levels of cyclists and pedestrians. Many European cities have adopted this good practice, with considerable results in terms of road safety and quality of life improvement.

The Rapporteur underlines the worryingly high amount of road traffic offenses committed by non-residents and points out the need of further strengthening the efficiency of the existing framework for cross-border enforcement of road traffic offenses, in the upcoming revision of the Directive.

The Rapporteur also reckons that introducing measures to encourage novice drivers to gain more experience, as part of the Driving Licence Directive, and its continuous update with technological developments in vehicles and infrastructure will result in a safer road use.

Delivery vans, powered two-wheelers, and bicycles are all around urban roads, as home delivery sector has increased substantially, also due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A big percentage of road crashes is directly linked to the quality of professional drivers’ working conditions. Hence, the Rapporteur suggests measures to tackle drivers’ fatigue and improve the safety of delivery personnel.

Fast and effective post-crash care has proven to be a key factor in reducing the severity of injuries, in many cases. In this regard, the Rapporteur calls for closer collaboration between road safety authorities and the health sector and for compulsory first-aid training for all drivers as part of the Driving Licence Directive.

Enforcement of road traffic rules is an essential element for safer road use. According to the Rapporteur, a long-lasting change in driving behaviour can only be achieved through adequate funding, annual targets and well explained and publicised enforcement measures.

2.5 Framework fit for the future

The ability to closely follow and adopt to new societal changes and continuous technology advances has to be an in-built feature of the EU road safety policy. For instance, over the coming few years, automated cars will be operating in roads together with conventional vehicles and vulnerable roads users. The rapporteur fully acknowledges the risks that may arise from the various challenges to come for road safety and asks the EU to prepare the ground in addressing them.

In the light of future evolutions, the Rapporteur, aiming to further enhancing road safety, is also asking for a framework to access in-vehicle data beyond the repair market in full compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation. She considers that access to in-vehicle data should be only for accident research and roadworthiness purposes.

Moreover, the report gives special consideration to vulnerable road users. So far, improved vehicle safety and other road safety measures have mainly benefited car users. The Rapporteur stresses that the safety of pedestrians and cyclists and of certain other demographic groups (e.g. elderly road users, reduced mobility users) is not to be compromised. Additionally, having more people walking, cycling and using public transportation will not only increase our road safety levels but will also help in achieving our climate targets. This is why the Rapporteur favours synergies between safety and sustainability measures and calls for the reprioritisation of transport infrastructure in dense urban areas.

The Rapporteur emphasizes the active engagement of civil society and social partners as a prerequisite in achieving “Vision Zero”. The EU road safety policy must include a comprehensive outreach scheme and incentives to all stakeholders to improve safety on the road. The Rapporteur recognises the importance in this context of the EU Urban Road Safety award as well as Commission’s intention to revitalise the European Road Safety Charter and goes a step further by asking for a “European Year of Road Safety” in due time.

Finally, the Rapporteur is of the opinion that an enhanced governance structure is of paramount importance for the proper implementation of the EU road safety policy, under the overarching Sustainable and Smart Mobility strategy. Drawing inspiration from the contribution to advances in safety that Europeans agencies in other modes of transport have delivered, the Report calls the Commission to further support safe road transport by exploring the feasibility of creating a new agency.


 

ANNEX: LIST OF ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR HAS RECEIVED INPUT

The following list is drawn up on a purely voluntary basis under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur. The rapporteur has received input from the following entities or persons in the preparation of the draft report on EU Road Safety Policy Framework 2021-2030 – Recommendations on next steps towards “Vision Zero” (2017/2067(INI));

Entity and/or person

European Commission - DG MOVE

European Transport Safety Council (ETSC)

European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF)

 


INFORMATION ON ADOPTION IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

Date adopted

17.6.2021

 

 

 

Result of final vote

+:

–:

0:

44

1

3

Members present for the final vote

Magdalena Adamowicz, Andris Ameriks, José Ramón Bauzá Díaz, Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Paolo Borchia, Marco Campomenosi, Ciarán Cuffe, Jakop G. Dalunde, Johan Danielsson, Karima Delli, Anna Deparnay-Grunenberg, Ismail Ertug, Gheorghe Falcă, Giuseppe Ferrandino, João Ferreira, Mario Furore, Søren Gade, Isabel García Muñoz, Jens Gieseke, Elsi Katainen, Elena Kountoura, Julie Lechanteux, Bogusław Liberadzki, Peter Lundgren, Benoît Lutgen, Elżbieta Katarzyna Łukacijewska, Marian-Jean Marinescu, Giuseppe Milazzo, Cláudia Monteiro de Aguiar, Caroline Nagtegaal, Jan-Christoph Oetjen, Philippe Olivier, Rovana Plumb, Tomasz Piotr Poręba, Dominique Riquet, Dorien Rookmaker, Massimiliano Salini, Sven Schulze, Vera Tax, Barbara Thaler, István Ujhelyi, Henna Virkkunen, Petar Vitanov, Elissavet Vozemberg-Vrionidi, Roberts Zīle, Kosma Złotowski

Substitutes present for the final vote

Ignazio Corrao, Clare Daly

 


 

FINAL VOTE BY ROLL CALL IN COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE

44

+

ECR

Tomasz Piotr Poręba, Roberts Zīle, Kosma Złotowski

ID

Paolo Borchia, Marco Campomenosi

NI

Mario Furore

PPE

Magdalena Adamowicz, Gheorghe Falcă, Jens Gieseke, Elżbieta Katarzyna Łukacijewska, Benoît Lutgen, Marian-Jean Marinescu, Giuseppe Milazzo, Cláudia Monteiro de Aguiar, Massimiliano Salini, Sven Schulze, Barbara Thaler, Henna Virkkunen, Elissavet Vozemberg-Vrionidi

Renew

José Ramón Bauzá Díaz, Izaskun Bilbao Barandica, Søren Gade, Elsi Katainen, Caroline Nagtegaal, Jan-Christoph Oetjen, Dominique Riquet

S&D

Andris Ameriks, Johan Danielsson, Ismail Ertug, Giuseppe Ferrandino, Isabel García Muñoz, Bogusław Liberadzki, Rovana Plumb, Vera Tax, István Ujhelyi, Petar Vitanov

The Left

Clare Daly, João Ferreira, Elena Kountoura

Verts/ALE

Ignazio Corrao, Ciarán Cuffe, Jakop G. Dalunde, Karima Delli, Anna Deparnay-Grunenberg

 

1

-

NI

Dorien Rookmaker

 

3

0

ECR

Peter Lundgren

ID

Julie Lechanteux, Philippe Olivier

 

Key to symbols:

+ : in favour

- : against

0 : abstention

 

 

Last updated: 1 September 2021
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