Faster efforts needed to reach the EU road safety targets

Subject: Faster efforts needed to reach the EU road safety targets

Road safety is a major societal issue in the European Union, since every year thousands of people lose their lives or are seriously injured in road accidents1. According to the European Court of Auditors’ Special report 04/20242, achieving the objective of halving fatalities and serious injuries by 2030 and reducing deaths to zero by 2050 does not appear feasible without additional efforts. The report finds that the Commission has not yet carried out an adequate assessment of national strategies’ contribution in achieving those objectives, and that improving road safety is not a priority in EU funding of road projects and infrastructure3.

In view of this:

1. What specific steps is the Commission planning to reach the EU road safety targets more quickly?

2. What measures does it intend to take to ensure improved monitoring of investments by the Member States and the comparability of data on serious injury and death?

3. Will it examine the possibility of boosting funding for infrastructure projects that contribute to road safety and introducing new, stricter rules on the projects funded by the EU, in order to take into account their impacts on road safety when they are being selected and implemented?

Submitted: 16.10.2024

1 In 2023, 20 400 people lost their lives in road crashes across the EU, marking a 1 % decrease from the

previous year. The current pace of decline falls short of the required 4.5 % annual reduction needed to achieve the EU’s goal of halving road deaths by 2030. https://transport.ec.europa.eu/news- events/news/20400-lives-lost-eu-road-crashes-last-year-2024-10-10_en

2 Special report 04/2024: Reaching EU road safety objectives – Time to move up a gear.

https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications?ref=sr-2024-04

3 The report also stresses that many of the co-funded projects were not located at sections of the road network

with the highest accident rates or death rates, and that there was no requirement to estimate their potential contribution to road safety or to develop any outcome indicators, impacting investment effectiveness.

Answer given by Mr Tzitzikostas on behalf of the European Commission (3 January 2025)

The Commission acknowledges that further efforts are required for the EU to fulfil its aims of halving road deaths and serious injuries by 2030 and achieving ‘Vision Zero’ by 2050.

As road safety is a shared competence, cooperation with the Member States in this field is key. The Commission is committed to monitoring the application of existing rules and to support in the future a smooth deployment of new measures resulting from the Road Safety Package (1).

The Commission also promotes an evidence-based approach to road safety, supporting research through the European Road Safety Observatory (2), data collection on key road safety performance indicators and mutual learning between Member States in the context of the EU Road Safety Exchange.

Together with the Member States, the Commission has begun to monitor how the EU policy framework and national road safety strategies are being implemented. A progress report is planned for 2025.

Under the directive on road infrastructure safety management (3), the safety of motorways and interurban roads must be assessed every 5 years.

This is designed to identify high-risk sections and prioritise investments where they will be most effective and of the greatest added value in relation to road-safety.

The Commission will also increase the public transparency and awareness of the risk posed by each road section in the EU, by showing the risk levels on a digital map.

1 1In 2023, 20 400 people lost their lives in road crashes across the EU, marking a 1% decrease from the previous year. The current pace of decline falls short of

the required 4.5% annual reduction needed to achieve the EU’s goal of halving road deaths by 2030. https://transport.ec.europa.eu/news-events/news/20400- lives-lost-eu-road-crashes-last-year-2024-10-10_en 2 2

Special report 04/2024: Reaching EU road safety objectives — Time to move up a gear. https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/publications?ref=sr-2024-04 3 3The report also stresses that many of the co-funded projects were not located at sections of the road network with the highest accident rates or death rates, and that there was no requirement to estimate their potential contribution to road safety or to develop any outcome indicators, impacting investment effectiveness. 1 ∙ ⸱ Road Safety Package proposed by the Commission on 1 March 2023 updates requirements for driving licences covering better road safety aspects and ensures better cross-border enforcement of road traffic rules. While the interinstitutional negotiations on the revision of the directive on cross-border enforcement of traffic rules were finalised in spring 2024, the legislative process is still ongoing for the two remaining directives of this Package concerning driving licences requirements and EU-wide driving disqualification. 2 ∙ ⸱

https://road-safety.transport.ec.europa.eu/european-road-safety-observatory_en 3 ∙ ⸱ https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32008L0096






| | )In addition, the Commission is currently preparing guidance on the design of forgiving roads and of infrastructure for the vulnerable users, which will also serve as a reference for remedial measures and investments. The Commission will examine the possibility of boosting funding for infrastructure projects that contribute to road safety.