Brussels, 18/04/2006 (Agence Europe) - On 12 April, the European Union launched two public consultations on road safety: one on the safety of road infrastructure, the other on the use by heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) of mirrors eliminating blind spots. Parties involved have until 19 May to send their responses, which the Commission will use as the basis for its proposals, due later this year.
In his mid-term review of the European strategy on road safety in February, Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said he intended to act on three pillars to improve road safety in Europe: human behaviour, vehicle technology and road infrastructure. The first consultation document is based on this last point. The aim is integrate security into the planning, conception and user phases of the road infrastructure on the trans-European transport networks (TEN-T). The Commission will take account of submissions from the sector to propose measures, but the format has already been set: it envisages the adoption of guidelines, leaving the detail of their implementation to Member States rather than more binding measures. This kind of measure has the advantage of guaranteeing that common minimum safety conditions will be met on the TEN-T, but could, it is acknowledged by the Commission, lead to opposition from Member States.
The other public consultation document is on the use by heavy goods vehicles of mirrors which eliminate blind spots. Every year, 400 European citizens lose their lives in accidents with lorries because HGV drivers cannot see them when turning right, says a Commission document. Community legislation already exists - directive 2003/97 makes it compulsory for mirrors which eliminate blind spots to be fitted on all new HGVs registered in the EU from 1st January 2007 - but it is insufficient. Renewal of lorries in Europe is slow and, at the current rate, the HGV fleet in the EU will not be renewed until 2022 at the earliest. That is why, as Mr Barrot announced at the Transport Council of 27 March, the Commission intends to present a draft directive to extend from 2008 the scope of directive 2003/97 to HGVs of over 3.5 tonnes built after 1998. Almost 4 million vehicles will be affected by this measure, which, according to the Commission, should save 1300 lives every year.