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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
C O M 185) 239 fin a l
Brussels, 22 M ay 1985
1986 R O A D  S A FE TY  Y E A R  IN T H E  C O M M U N IT Y
P u b licity, Legislative Proposals, Research 
Projects and other a c tiv itie s  to be 
undertaken
(Communication of the Commission to the Council)
C0MC85) 239 final

1986 ROAD SAFETY YEAR IN THE COMMUNITY
P u b lic ity , Legislative Proposals, Research 
Projects and o th e r·a c tiv itie s  to be 
undertaken
Introduction
1. This Communication summarizes, in re la tio n  to "1986 Road Safety Year 
in the Community", the scope and nature of the various a c tiv itie s  to be 
undertaken by the Commission and the Member States. I t  gives more concrete 
form to the ideas in the Commission’ s Communication to the Council (C0M(84)704 
fin a l of 13 December 1984).
2. I t  takes into account points m ade at the Informal Transport Council 
meeting of 5  March 1985, discussions in Council bodies and with the group of 
national road safety experts assisting the Commission as well as related 
developments in the Inform ation, In d u stria l and Educational sectors.
3. The general objectives of the 1986 Road Safety Year m ay be summarized as 
follow s:
reduce the road accidents during the year
adopt measures which w ill have longer term effects on road safety in 
the Community
-  convey a  message to European citizen s that road safety is a  problem 
a ffe ctin g  everyone, which in some respects can be tackled better on a  
Community basis.

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4. As only 8 months remain u n til the s ta rt of the Year* work has to 
accelerate both at Community and at national level. The Commission has 
already undertaken certain preparatory work and expects that a ll Member 
States wilL support these urgent and uncontroversial a c tiv itie s  required to 
meet the target date of 1st January 1986.
P u b licity Campaigns
5. The f ir s t  objective of the Year is to reduce road accidents. O ne of 
the means fo r achieving this aim is to make the public aware of specific dangers 
in tr a ffic  and to provide advice in the form of specific campaigns via the media. 
Such p u b lic ity  campaigns are already extensively used by a ll Member States. The 
Commission has collected and presented to Government representatives information 
on the national campaigns fo r 1984-85 and on those planned fo r 1986.
6. Whilst p rio ritie s  are d iffe re n t in the Member States* discussions in the
Group of National Road Safety Experts have revealed that i t  is feasible to 
conduct campaigns on sp e cific road safety themes in the m ajority of Member 
States in a  coordinated fashion. These national campaigns, although they might 
d iffe r in th e ir approach due to differences in national characteristics and 
needs* should contain the maximum of com m on elements when presented to the public. 
They would cover the follow ing themes: ch ild  safety* alcohol, safety belts*
two-wheelers* speeding.
Member States should not be constrained in th e ir choice of additional themes* 
given that most of them already have on-going road safety programmes* which could 
also include local in fra stru ctu re  problems.
A ll the national campaigns should have at least one com m on cha racte ristic —  the 
logo or symbol. The Commission has already asked specialised firms to work on 
th is  com m on ch a ra cte ristic. As the required coordination could best be handled 
by the Group of National Road Safety Experts* including th e ir information experts* 
which the Commission has set up to advise it *  the Council is invite d to provide 
them with the necessary powers.
•. /..

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7. Discussions with Member States representatives have also shown that a  
com m on campaign in a ll Member States would be feasible provided its  subject 
was general. A  general awareness campaign, stressing the size of the road 
safety problem in a ll Member States is very m uch in line with the concern 
expressed by the Council in its  resolution of last December. This general 
campaign w ill constitute the framework which w ill help to introduce both the 
"1986 -  Road Safety Year in the Community" and the national campaigns on 
specific themes.
Again fo r reasons of urgency the Commission is proceeding with the choice of 
a specialized firm  which has both experience in public information campaigns 
(including Road Safety) and a  European network. A fter receiving the necessary 
input such a firm  w ill "design" the campaign, and the results of th e ir work w ill 
be offered ready fo r presentation to the national a u th o ritie s, in time to 
incorporate i t  into th e ir programmes. Member States are invited to make the 
necessary arrangements.
Legislation
8. The Commission w ill submit, le g is la tiv e  proposals on the follow ing road 
safety aspects:
a) the extension of road worthiness testin g to cars. This should be 
ready fo r presentation to the Council by mid-85 and adoption should 
take place in 1986. Testing already applies to heavier vehicles by 
virtu e  of d ire ctive  77/143; cars are tested in som e Member States at 
d iffe re n t degrees of scope and se ve rity,
b) Improvements to the existing braking d ire c tiv e , including requirements 
fo r a n ti-lo ck systems fo r heavy vehicles,
c) Side guards fo r heavy vehicles on which a  proposal w ill be submitted 
by the end of 1985,
d) Spray suppresors fo r heavy vehicles, on which a  proposal w ill be sub­
mitted during the course of the "Year".

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e) Driving Licence: Proposals fo r furthe r harmonization of the conditions
fo r obtaining driving licences w ill be presented by the end of 1985 or 
early in 1986. The Commission w ill also consider making appropriate 
amendments to Directive 80/1263 with the view of phasing out the 
existing rules concerning the exchange of drivin g licences.
f) Transport of Dangerous Goods: The Commission w ill introduce two
proposals in the fie ld :
one to provide more frequent and more specific inspection of vehicles 
transporting certain dangerous goods; and
another to introduce a harmonized tra in in g  programme fo r drivers of 
such vehicles.
Research
9. In the area of research p r io rity  w ill be given to continuing the work on 
the European "dummy" and the establishment of biomechanical data fo r crash 
worthiness.
10. F in ally the Commission intends to promote research to be in itia te d  
during 1986 on
improvements to coach safety, based on accident analysis, and on
ways of improving the safety of the less protected road user groups, 
(children, old people, c y c lis ts ...)

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Other A c tiv itie s  during the Year 
Road Safety Data Bank
11. An important in itia tiv e  would be the creation of a  Road Safety Data 
Bank at Community le ve l, incorporating data on accidents and investigations 
as well as m aterial on and experience gained from national actions in road 
safety. This would be a  jo in t task fo r the Commission and the Member States. 
Such an information centre could assist a ll Member States in th e ir future 
actions and save expenditure on fa c ilitie s  which might otherwise be duplicated.
Education
12. Member States are invite d to step up th e ir e ffo rts  to make children and 
young people more conscious of the need fo r road safety, bearing in mind the 
results of the work undertaken in th is  area by E C M T  and the Council of Europe. 
The Commission w ill examine appropriate recommendations and specific ideas fo r 
the Year.
Special Conferences
13. Member States are invite d to organise local or national special 
conferences, with p a rticip a tio n  of experts from other Member States. As the 
1983 Nordic Road Safety Year showed, such seminars make very positive contrib­
utions to future road safety work.
14. A c tiv itie s  already planned include seminars on road safety in Paris in 
June and in Amsterdam in September 1986, w hilst preparations are under way for 
including road safety in other conferences at inte rna tiona l and local Level.
The Commission w ill use two tr a ffic  and safety events in Ita ly  in Autumn 1985 
to give advance p u b lic ity  to the Year.

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15. The Commission has been in touch with potential commercial and other 
sponsors fo r events such as
displaying road safety aspects and safety m aterial at exhibitions 
the provision of competitions fo r children, drive rs, e tc ., 
le a fle ts on holiday driving problems, etc.
Member States are invite d to cooperate in such schemes.
Spain and Portugal
16. Contact has been established with Spain and Portugal to enable th e ir 
representatives to p a rticip a te  in the planning fo r 1986 and thus extend the 
Year to the enlarged Community.
Budget
17. In addition to the funds allocated w ithin the 1985 budget fo r the 
p u b lic ity  campaigns, the Commission is planning to request a  budget of 1  mio E C U  
fo r 1986 a c tiv itie s  to support the events planned or proposed fo r that year.
Conelusions
18. I t  is clear that the work presented in the foregoing paragraphs represents 
a  considerable additional load on the Commission and its  services. Sim ilar 
e ffo rts  w ill of course be needed in the Member States who w ill, as part of 
th e ir normal road safety and information budgets, be bearing by fa r the greater 
part of the expenditures involved. The Member States and the Commission w ill 
therefore have to work together closely in a ll these a c tiv itie s  in order to 
make a  real success of the Council's Resolution in declaring 1986 to be the Year 
of Road Safety in the Community.
19. The Council is invite d to:
endorse the general lines of th is  Communication,
in v ite  Member States to take active steps fo r the implementation 
of the programmes,
confirm its  undertaking to ensure the rapid adoption of road safety 
proposals submitted by the Commission.