Brussels, 12/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - During European Road Safety Day, a conference on safer infrastructure was organised in Athens on 9 May by the Greek presidency of the EU and European Commission.
Currently, only 7% of fatal road accidents take place on the motorways, despite the high levels of speed and traffic on them. The European directive on minimum safety standards for this network has therefore proved very productive. What efforts need to be agreed on in the inter-urban network? The European Commissioner for Transport, Siim Kallas, stated that over recent years “we have mainly looked at the role played by passengers on the roads” and now they needed to pay more attention to roads and infrastructure. According to the Commissioner, “there is great potential for making the EU's roads both safer and smarter”.
During the conference, discussions focused on safer and smarter infrastructure and cooperative systems for promoting safer urban mobility.
On 8 May, European transport ministers also looked at this question, together with the secretary-general for the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA), Erik Jonnaert. The industry believes there should be more focus on developing smart transport systems and cooperating with other sector actors. Jonnaert said that “90% of accidents are caused by drivers, so it is only by combining better vehicles with upgraded infrastructure and improved driver training that we can further lower accident rates”. (MD)