EU: Members of the European Parliament are set to approve an ambitious programme to halve the number of road deaths in the EU and improve cross-border enforcement of traffic laws.
Up to 20,000 lives a year could be saved in the 25 EU member states if the programme of increased enforcement and improved design and technologies were implemented, the parliament heard last night.
Ari Vatanen, a former world rally champion and now a Finnish MEP, put the cost of the annual death toll on EU roads at €180 billion, or 2 per cent of GNP.
MEPs vote today on the report compiled by Mr Vatanen, whose father died in a traffic accident when the future rally champion was just eight years of age.
Although vehicles are four times safer than they were in 1970, road traffic accidents remain the main cause of death for under-50s, he said.
Mr Vatanen pointed out that if every EU state were to achieve the reduction in deaths seen in the UK and Sweden, the countries with the best safety records, overall fatalities would fall by 17,000 a year.
He called for better training and lifelong education for drivers, a focus on the special needs of groups such as immigrants and the elderly and the introduction of a European driving licence.
Special attention was also needed for motorcyclists, whose risk of death was 17 times that of car-drivers. Mr Vatanen's report also urged the maximum alcohol limit should be set at 0.5 mg/ml (in Ireland it is 0.8 mg/ml).
Mr Vatanen said cross-border enforcement of traffic laws was "very unsatisfactory" because of the lack of a uniform system to allow authorities in one member state to prosecute offenders from another state.
His report highlighted the use of technological measures to reduce accidents, including seat-belt reminders, electronic stability control, speed limitation systems and "alcolocks" to prevent drunken drivers using their vehicles. He has accepted an amendment tabled by Independent MEP Marian Harkin calling for all lorries to be fitted with front-view mirrors. She said a number of recent traffic accidents had shown that truck-drivers were often unaware of pedestrians passing in front of their vehicles in urban areas.
The report, while non-binding, is expected to influence the European Commission's policy on road safety, which is being redrafted.