[NEWS]

European Parliament adopts legislation on higher safety standards for road infrastructure

MEPs adopted a legislative report on a directive to upgrade road safety management standards. The aim is to establish EU-wide standards on road infrastructure management. Safety standards for roads, in particular in road design maintenance, differ greatly between the Member States.

The Directive requires the establishment and implementation of rules relating to road safety impact assessments, road safety audits, the management of road network safety and safety inspections by the Member States.

The earlier rejection of the report by the transport committee resulted in a less stringent  version of the Commission's original proposal, which foresaw that member states would have to carry out mandatory road-safety impact assessments and audits for all infrastructure projects. The draft also demanded routine safety inspections of roads and roadworks, yearly evaluations of the network and the use of intelligent road signs and telematics services to help prevent accidents and accelerate the arrival of emergency services. 

An an open letter signed by ACEM and road organisations including the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) and the European Union Road Federation (ERF) the non binding nature of this Directive was criticized as a simple set of "guidelines" will prove insufficient to tackle the serious problems related to road safety. However it is to be hoped that the guidelines will establish a framework to raise standards.

The draft directive provides  for impact assessments of the effect of road building on safety, safety audits and inspections, and improved safety in the existing road network.  This would include the identification of high-risk road sections as well as the use of intelligent road signs and intelligent transport systems and telematics services for emergency and signage purposes.

The EP Transport Committee initially rejected the draft directive outright, on the grounds that it risked creating too much red tape and that this area was best dealt with at national level.
 
EP negotiators have now reached an agreement with the Council, which the House endorsed in Strasbourg.  The EP rapporteur is Helmuth Markov (GUE/NGL, DE) and was adopted with 498 votes in favour, 8 against and 6 abstentions.
 
The substance of the legislation is contained in the annexes to the directive but, under the compromise, these will be non-binding on Member States. Thus, the directive will in effect not lay down any major substantive requirements but rather serve as a set of guidelines for Member States on how to manage road infrastructure safety.

Link:

ACEM Open Letter