WRITTEN QUESTION P-1722/00

by Piia-Noora Kauppi (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(20 May 2000)

Subject: Measures to guarantee the safety of road tunnels

European road users' organisations have commissioned a study designed to establish, by means of spot checks, safety levels in 25 road tunnels in eight European countries. The study focused on those tunnels most used by tourists.

The study laid down ten different criteria which were used to assess the degree of safety of the tunnels. The most important were fire safety, the width of the lanes, the availability of sufficient space to enable ambulances and fire engines to reach the scene of accidents, the presence of video surveillance equipment in the tunnels and the degree to which the ventilation of the tunnels is geared to the possibility of accidents.

In addition, tests were carried out to determine how quickly the fire, ambulance and other emergency services can reach the scene of accidents. Along with ease of access for emergency service vehicles, the study examined whether emergency service personnel are trained to deal with accidents in tunnels. In the case of some tunnels, the operators seemed entirely indifferent to the issue of safety or had given little proper thought to it, owing to a lack of practical knowledge.

The study revealed that a number of tunnels appear to be very dangerous and offer an inadequate level of safety.

The Commission has also received the study in question, prompting the following question: What measures is it taking in order to ensure that road tunnels in Europe are safe?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(30 June 2000)

The survey referred to by the Honourable Member has indeed shown that there have been disparities among the safety levels displayed by road tunnels in Europe, more particularly where there have been conflagrations. This is mainly due to the state of technology applying when tunnels are placed in service and to changes in traffic conditions. This means that the most recent tunnels generally embody a higher level of safety.

It is first of all the responsibility of the authorities involved, the main customers or the concession holders to take action enabling a sufficiently high level of safety to be ensured in tunnels. That action may take the form of technical modifications to structures or safety equipment, the application of traffic-management rules that are intended to reduce exposure to hazards, or of provisions intended to make emergency action easier in the event of an accident.

Very long road tunnels differ too widely as regards their geometry, location and age for anyone to be able to apply a traditional standardised approach.

However, their safety must constantly be reassessed in order to be able to apply innovations and technical progress. The Commission would like to prompt the devising of a harmonised method for that purpose.

It also supports the activities of the international bodies such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development or the World Roads Association that is intended to improve tunnel safety by pooling the experience gained by their members and listing the various techniques and procedures. The Commission does not intend to duplicate or repeat those activities.

Finally, as part of the 5th Research Programme, the Commission has also called for proposals to improve the techniques to reduce the likelihood and consequences of accidents in tunnels. The search for specific technologies should, in particular, concentrate on improving systems to contain or extinguish incipient conflagrations, but above all to prevent these.