On Wednesday 29 March, at the end of a road safety ministerial conference in Valetta, transport ministers adopted the “The Valetta Declaration”. This seeks to improve road safety and halve the number of deaths on the road by 2020. The text particularly focuses on the seriously injured, and connected and autonomous cars.
Despite a slight decrease in the number of deaths on European roads in 2016 (see EUROPE 11756), the member states are again concerned by mortality rates and serious injuries, particularly with regard to their societal and financial costs, which are around €100 billion a year.
According to the declaration, efforts should particularly be made by member states that fall below the average on mortality rates on the roads, and they should commit to pursuing either existing measures or new measures set out in a 15-point plan.
Member states. Some of the most emblematic measures include a determination to: step up cooperation between member states, as well as with civil society, research institutes and the private sector, to develop plans and strategies by adopting a risk-based approach; - place emphasis on the safety of cyclists and pedestrians by developing specific infrastructure when possible; - reduce speed limits to 30 km an hour in high-risk zones; - halve the number of seriously injured by 2030 compared to the 2020 level; - collect comparative data on the seriously injured according to the MAIS definition (Maximum Abbreviated Injury Score); - introduce connected and autonomous cars on the basis of the Amsterdam Declaration (see EUROPE 11533, 11532).
European Commission. Transport ministers are calling on the European Commission to: - guarantee the introduction of new vehicle safety characteristics by speeding up the revision of the rules relating to vehicle type approval in the regulation on general safety requirements in motor vehicle type approval
(Regulation 661/2009); - present a post-2020 European road safety policy framework; - explore the possibility of a legal framework that enables mutual recognition of driving disqualifications of non-resident drivers; - explore the potential of connected and autonomous cars
Industry. Finally, ministers call on the industrial sector to: - develop cooperative intelligent transport systems that are compatible and interoperable at a European level; - develop new technologies for autonomous driving and assisted driving systems to reduce human error and to prevent lapses of concentration when driving (such as autonomous emergency braking); - promote the potential of connected and autonomous cars
Warm welcome from civil society. The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) warmly welcomed the adoption of the declaration, which, for the first time, contains the mention of serious injuries. The president of the organisation, Antonio Avenoso, pointed out on this occasion that vehicle safety standards have not been updated since 2009, despite technological developments. He also said that he regretted the delays created by the European Commission in this domain. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)