WRITTEN QUESTION E-2276/02

by Kathleen Van Brempt (PSE) to the Commission

(24 July 2002)

Subject: European road safety checks

In late 2001, the European Traffic Police Network (Tispol) announced that massive road safety checks would be carried out in all the 15 Member States of the EU. The Belgian media reported that these would be the most comprehensive road safety checks ever carried out in the history of Europe. They would take place over a period of nine days in 2002 and would be carried out simultaneously throughout the European Union. The checks would concentrate on drinking and driving and on freight and coach transport. The European Commission indicated that it would use the results as the basis for new European road safety legislation. The Commission would also have to bear 40 % of the cost of the operation.

Can the Commission now supply me with more information about the Tispol operation? How many people were checked and fined? What did the entire operation cost?

What is the Commission doing with the results? What proposals for road safety legislation will the Commission be submitting now that the results of the European road safety checks are available?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(24 September 2002)

The purpose of Tispol, the European Network of Traffic Police, is to co-ordinate on a Europe-wide scale different national traffic enforcement actions. Over the years 2000 and 2001 these actions focused on alcohol checks and checks on heavy goods vehicles. According to the information provided to the Commission by Tispol, more than 600 000 drivers were stopped and controlled during several alcohol actions held in 12 European countries(1). The alcohol checks took place at 16 050 different locations across Europe, involving 30 706 police officers, and 8 233 drivers were not allowed to continue to drive a car, whereas 1 790 driving licences were revoked. In the same years, Tispol also co-ordinated four actions called European Operation Mermaid, directed against road crime and traffic offences by commercial heavy goods vehicles; in these actions, over 100 000 heavy goods vehicles have been stopped and controlled with over 39 000 offences detected in total. Of those vehicles, 13 309 were controlled for dangerous conditions; 1 852 were so dangerous that they were not allowed to continue their journeys; 11 458 tachograph and drivers hours offences were also detected.

For the period mid 2002 to mid 2003, Tispol has indeed programmed similar enforcement co-ordination actions. Three Europe-wide co-ordinated alcohol enforcement days are anticipated where about 600 000 additional drivers will be checked in at least 12 countries, as well as three further Europe-wide co-ordinated enforcement days of examining commercial vehicles, where some 65 000 vehicles, their drivers and records will be the subject of additional investigation, plus three Europe-wide co-ordinated enforcement days of examining buses and coaches, where some 65 000 vehicles, drivers and records will be the subject of additional investigation.

The Commission has given financial assistance over 2000-2001, mainly to support the establishment of the Tispol organisation. A further contract has been concluded end July 2002 with a view to providing Tispol for the coming year with a grant of EUR 800 000, as a financial contribution in the administrative costs linked with the co-ordination at Union level of these concerted national enforcement actions and in the costs of disseminating best practice in the enforcement domain. These activities will considerably contribute to an improved road safety in the Union.

As these controls are performed in the course of normal police enforcement activities, any info on cost of the controls as such would have to be requested from the police authorities of the participating Member States.

While these enforcement figures seem impressive, their number is still very low compared to the actual traffic flows. As announced in the Commission White Paper on European transport policy for 2010: time to decide(2), the Commission is currently preparing proposals for measures to improve enforcement of road safety at Union level. The results of the Tispol enforcement actions will be taken into account in this work.

(1) Namely Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Finland, United Kingdom, Norway, Slovenia and Switzerland.

(2) COM(2001) 370 final.