Brussels, 09/01/2012 (Agence Europe) - Denmark has said that road safety will be one of the priorities of its term at the helm of the rotating Presidency of the EU Council of Ministers, without, however, giving any detailed information on what it is going to do. In a memorandum dated 9 January, the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) sets out its recommendations for how the Danish Presidency could improve road safety in Europe and achieve the target of halving the number of people killed on Europe's roads by 2020, as contained in the policy guidelines presented by the European Commission in July 2010.
Tachograph: training and penalties. Denmark plans to pursue the work done by the Polish Presidency on revision of the tachograph legislation. The ETSC welcomes this, as making use of new tachograph technology and capabilities will help combat driver fatigue. According to ETSC estimates driver drowsiness is a significant factor in approximately 20% of commercial road transport accidents. The ETSC wants the Danish Presidency efforts to focus more specifically on the training of enforcement officers and on harmonising sanctions against infringements of tachograph legislation.
Safety on the TEN-T. In the revision of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T), the Danish Presidency should, according to the ETSC, lay stress on the use of intelligent transport systems and the provision of secure parking areas for heavy goods vehicles (which will also address driver fatigue), if it is to have an impact on road safety. The association is pleased that, in the proposal for the new TEN-T guidelines, compliance with European legislation on road infrastructure is a prerequisite for funding to be granted but wants Denmark to bring pressure to bear so that similar conditionality will also apply to all European funds which finance transport infrastructure, in particular the European Regional Development Fund.
Cross-border sanctions: an end to Danish opt-out. A further point which has engaged the attention of the ETSC is transposition of the directive, adopted in October of last year, on cross-border sanctions of road traffic offences. Denmark has opted out of this policy area. The ETSC urges the new Presidency to reconsider this position and to opt in, and to encourage the other member states to incorporate the new directive into their national legislation.
Alcolocks. The ETSC highlights the advantages of fitting alcolocks - systems which require drivers to blow into an in-vehicle breathalyser and so check blood-alcohol levels, before being able to start the ignition. The European Commission estimates that at least 20% of road deaths are alcohol-related. Finland and Belgium are already using such as system as an integrated part of their rehabilitation programmes. Denmark has already passed legislation paving the way for using this system. The ETSC, therefore, calls on the Danish Presidency to inform the other member states of progress and encourage them to adopt similar schemes. (MD/transl.rt)