Brussels, 21/10/2003 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission will on Tuesday propose a revision of the Community road safety rules. To do this, it envisages general measures to reinforce road safety, and specific measures to improve provisions in force on driving licences. EUROPE points out that road safety will be the subject of an informal meeting of Transport Ministers of the EU in Verona (Italy) on 23 and 24 October.
To reinforce Community road safety measures, the Commission is to adopt firstly a proposed Directive to improve working conditions in the professional road transport sector, plus a proposed recommendation on "best practice" for the application of road safety measures. The Commission will propose increasing the number of checks on days worked by drivers, checks which are carried out at the roadside and in the premises of road haulage operators. Furthermore, half of these checks should be carried out in the premises. The Commission also hopes to encourage co-operation between the authorities responsible for implementing the safety measures, as well as between Member States, especially in acting against operators failing to apply the safety rules. Measures could also be envisaged for Member States to plan sufficient filling stations in their national road infrastructure plans. The Commission will also recommend that the Member States implement, as part of their national plans, "best practice" in force to check that road safety measures are being applied. For example: - the use of speed cameras; - the application of random breath tests on drivers; - intensive enforcement actions several times a year to check that seatbelts are being worn in cars; - publicity initiatives to raise public awareness. Member States should also exchange information on infringements committed by a vehicle on their territory even if it is registered in another Member State; in this way, the driver can be penalised by the competent authority. Lastly, the Commission may at a later date propose "binding" measure to achieve its goal of halving the number of road deaths in the EU every year by 2010.
To combat driving licence fraud and improve both free movement of citizens and road safety, the Commission hopes to harmonise provisions on driving licences on Community territory. The proposed Directive should allow it to be made compulsory on Community territory for driving licences to be issued in plastic format rather than on paper, once the Directive enters into force. Member States would also be allowed to include a chip in "plastic" driving licences containing data relating to the driving licence. The proposal will also provide for a time limit to be imposed on driving licences (ten years for cars and motorcycles; five years for buses and lorries), which will have to be renewed regularly. This measure would apparently not apply to driving licences issues before the entry into force of the Directive for an undetermined period (except in case of loss or theft of these documents). The proposal also envisages a new driving licence category for mopeds, and progressive access of "young drivers" to motorcycles (from 16 to 24 years), depending on the vehicle's characteristics (especially engine size) and driver experience. Lastly, the Commission will also propose measure to: prevent drivers whose licences have been withdrawn in their own Member State from obtaining one in another; - impose minimum requirements for the qualification of examiners who issue driving licences; - harmonise the periodicity of medical checks for professional drivers.