Responding to the European Commission's Common Transport Policy White Paper, ETSC's Executive Director, Jeanne Breen said today:

"ETSC strongly supports the Commission's intention to set a target to cut road deaths by the year 2010 but demonstrably effective EU policies need to be enacted now if the EU is to make any real contribution. We estimate that EU action in the short term could save over 10,000 lives by the year 2010. The action proposed to 2005 is woefully inadequate and needs to be much expanded in the forthcoming road safety action programme.

The reference to public transport safety in the White Paper is too scant. With passenger transport forecast to increase by 24% to 2010, where is the coherent EU transport safety strategy for the next nine years?"

Road safety

ETSC strongly supports the European Commission's intention to set, for the first time, a numerical aspirational target to cut road deaths in the EU - 41,000 EU citizens lost their lives last year.

But the target (50% reduction in deaths compared with the year 2000 level), as currently drafted, is very challenging. In effect, it would mean that the EU as a whole will have to do better than the two best performing Member States - Sweden and the UK - have achieved to date.

If implemented, this means that the 3rd Road Safety Action Programme which is expected at the end of this year needs to be extremely ambitious in introducing demonstrably effective measures. The programme needs to go well beyond the two fields of action foreseen: of harmonising penalties (where there is little evidence of casualty reduction effect) and implementing new technologies (does the Commission truly expect effective measures such as intelligent speed adaption in all cars by 2010?).

The two (!) short term measures outlined are measures on the EU's safest roads - the largely motorway element of the Trans-European Road Network -harmonised signs at high risk accident sites and harmonised checks and penalties for commercial road transport drivers hardly address the core of the problem.

ETSC believes that in the short term the priorities for EU action which could lead to savings in over 10,000 lives annually are:

• A Directive to implement the four EEVC performance tests lading to safer cars fronts for pedestrians and cyclists (saving estimate: 2000 lives annually)
• Harmonisation of effective seat belt reminder systems in cars (saving estimate: over 4000 lives annually)
• A Directive requiring mandatory crash helmet use by motorcycle and moped riders (saving estimate: - around 1000 lives annually)
• Mandatory fitment of daytime running lights to cars and motorcycles (Saving estimate: At least 3000 lives annually)
• Improvements in the front and side impact crash testing legislation
• Best practice guidelines in road safety engineering (safety audit, urban safety management, speed reduction, low cost measures) to be taken up in the first instance on all EU funded infrastructure

Public transport safety

While noting that a range of adhoc measures is proposed to address the safety of the non road transport modes, ETSC is disappointed not to see a comprehensive transport safety strategy covering each of the modes.

With a 24% increase in passenger transport forecast to 2010 and the increased risk of crash injury exposure, ETSC is dismayed that transport safety as a whole has not been given explicit and equal consideration to the economic and environmental considerations of transport policy in the White Paper.

Contact details: Jeanne Breen, Executive Director + 32 (0) 2 230 4106/4004