[NEWS]
Open letter to the European Parliament’s Transport Committee
22.2.2008, Brussels. The European organisations representing a broad range of road users, road safety organisations, public authorities, infrastructure operators and industries have signed a joint Open Letter to the European Parliament’s Transport Committee to support a positive vote in its meeting of 25th - 26th February 2008.
The Commission proposal for a directive aims to upgrade road safety management standards across the EU and defines guidelines and best practices for all stages of infrastructure management, including road safety impact assessments, road safety audits, network safety management and safety inspections.
An Open Letter in Support of Higher Safety Levels on Europe’s Roads
We, the undersigned organisations (representing a broad range of road users, road safety organisations, public authorities, infrastructure operators and industries), welcome the proposal for a Directive on Road Infrastructure Safety Management, as being part of the “integrated approach to road safety” (linking the users, the vehicle and the infrastructure aspects) and a step in the right direction to reach the EU’s objective of halving the number of deaths on European roads by 2010.
We therefore invite the European Parliament’s Transport Committee to carefully re-examine the content of the European Commission’s proposal and deliver a positive vote in its meeting of 25th - 26th February 2008.
In our view, this proposal does not contradict the Better Regulation Agenda, as it does not introduce any extra costs or further administrative burden on those Member States which already boast good safety records, but provides a clear added value for enhanced road safety, mainly in those new Member States that could gain major benefits from the implementation of this directive. Accepting a constructive approach would send a strong and positive message to all European citizens, at a time when road safety has become a priority within the European Union’s agenda.
We underline that, in order to analyse all the parameters affecting road safety and successfully meet the EU’s safety targets, a continuing and transparent dialogue between all 27 Member States, the European Parliament, the European Commission, and the relevant stakeholders, is needed so as to reach the consensus that is essential for the common interests of Europe’s society.
Please refer to the background information paper on the proposed Directive at www.saferoads.eu
Download the report [here]
[INDEX]
ACEM'S POSITION ON GREEN PAPER ON URBAN MOBILITY
1000 SUPPORT ROADSAFETY CHARTER
The Transport Committee vote. The Transport Committee on 26 February adopted an amended version of the Commission proposal maintaining that a directive to upgrade road safety management standards EU-wide would breach the subsidiarity principle and create too much red tape if its guidelines were to be made binding. Whilst acknowledging that infrastructure improvements and better engineering could cut accidents involving injury by 7000 and save 600 lives a year, MEPs believe this is best achieved by allowing Member States to choose which guidelines they implement.
Non-binding guidelines The committee was voting on a second report on the Commission proposal by Helmuth Markov (GUE/NGL, DE). It had already rejected the Commission proposal in June 2007, arguing that non-binding measures would be more appropriate. The plenary then referred the first report back to the committee in July 2007, and on 2 October 2007, the Council of Transport Ministers also endorsed the idea of a directive with guidelines set out in non-binding annexes.
Let Member States decide In his second report on the proposal, Mr Markov incorporated parts of the Council position and many first reading amendments. It was decided that the annexes in the directive would not be binding and that the Member States could decide which parts of these guidelines they would implement. The application of the directive should also be restricted to the Trans-European Networks (TENs) and not be expended to all motorways in the EU.
The report was adopted with 25 votes in favour, 4 against and 13 abstentions.
The adoption in the Plenary is foreseen for April this year.