Mr President, 40,000 fatalities on Europe’s roads is 40,000 too many. This Chamber reacts with sensitivity to all the events taking place around the world, but we do not give sufficient attention to the Grim Reaper at work on the roads of Europe. Without in any way underrating the significance of mad cow disease I am nevertheless asking for a sense of proportion. Thousands more of our fellow creatures die in traffic accidents than from BSE. This should be a cause for panic. I would like to thank the Commission for its outstanding analysis of the situation. EU cooperation is needed more than ever, as there are dramatic differences in the levels of road safety within our Community. Four times as many people die in road accidents in Portugal than in Britain. However, there is plenty more scope for improvement in every country. The traffic environment must be made to become as safe as possible, but drivers are always responsible for their own safety and that of others on the road. A car in a garage is completely harmless, but when it is being used wrongly it is like a deadly weapon. Traffic regulations are not cookery book recipes that everyone can adapt to their own taste. The time for individuality on our roads is past: we need just as strict compliance with the regulations on the roads as we do with air travel. I will mention three important ways of reducing the number of road fatalities. Firstly, there is compliance with speed restrictions. I often drive in the Mediterranean countries, and, believe it or not, close to within the speed restriction, and I am constantly being overtaken. And it is no wonder, because only very rarely do I see any speed controls in operation. The accident statistics for these areas speak plainly. This laxness is paid for in human life and the tears of those left behind. Around two out of every three drivers in Europe go over the speed limit in built-up areas and half break the speed limit on the open road. If mad cows should be removed from pasture land, mad speed merchants should be removed from the roads. An effective, if not very popular, remedy is automatic speed controls and heavy penalties. Certainly in my country, Finland, the EUR 100 000 fines paid by some amount to just routine fare collections. Secondly, in vino veritas: there is truth in wine. It is also true that alcohol plays a part in no less than 9 000 cases of death a year. I think it is important that Member States switch to an alcohol limit of 0.5 per mil, which can also be monitored. If Member States lack the courage to do this, the matter must be dealt with through decision-making at European level. People sometimes have to be protected from their own governments. In repeated cases of drunken driving, or when the driver is well over the limit, there should be a long ban and the car should be confiscated by the state. The third point has to do with taxation. High taxes on cars lead to old and unsafe cars on the road. My country is a sad example of this. Finland is the Cuba of Europe when it comes to the age of cars. Cars that fulfil stringent safety standards should also benefit from lower taxation. In general, taxation should focus on a car’s use and not its purchase price. Ladies and gentlemen, I wish you a safe trip. Remember to fasten your safety belt in the back too.

Political group: PPE-DE