WRITTEN QUESTION E-0200/04 by Ioannis Marínos (PPE-DE) to the Commission. The Bob Programme and road accidents.
Date: 2004-01-29
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU aid, Greece, alcoholism, fund (EU), public awareness campaign, road safety, transport accident, use of aid

3.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 84 E/175

The Commission is watching developments in the energy market with all due attention. It will request
information from the United Kingdom authorities to investigate the alleged subsidy. The Commission will
not fail to take appropriate action if infringements of the relevant Community legislation are discovered.

All due attention would be given to any more detailed information on such proposals that the Honourable
Member might provide to the Commission.

(2004/C 84 E/0215)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0200/04

by Ioannis Marínos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(29 January 2004)

Subject: The ‘Bob Programme’ and road accidents

According to the Community’s Financial Report for 2002, the foreword to which was written by the
Commissioner responsible for the budget, Michaele Schreyer, 40 000 people died and 1,7 million were
injured in road accidents in the European Union in the year 2000 (pages 57 and 58 of the document).
The Commission supports the ‘Bob Programme’, the aim of which is to encourage car users to designate a
person among their group who will not consume alcoholic drinks during their outing so as to be able to
drive the others back safely after the event. On page 58 of the document it is stated that the ‘Bob
programme’ was first implemented in Belgium in 1995, to be copied subsequently by other Member States
adopting different names (e.g. ‘Lince’ in Spain, ‘Joker’ in Portugal etc.), while in Greece and the Netherlands
the programme was introduced under the name of ‘Bob’.

What data does the Commission have on the results of implementing the programme in Greece? Has there
been a decrease, and by what percentage, in road accidents in Greece, the country with the most fatal
accidents in proportion to its population in the whole of the Union? What funding did the Greek
authorities receive to implement the programme and how was that funding used?

Answer given by Mrs de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(26 February 2004)

Between 2001 and 2003, the Commission supported ‘designated driver’ road-safety campaigns in Greece
and several other Member States, encouraging people not to drink and drive.

The maximum grants allocated to Greece were EUR 174 000, EUR 163 000 and EUR 72 000 respectively,
which is between 22 % and 7 % of total grants.

This funding was used to adapt the Belgian ‘BOB’ campaign to Greek culture. Specifically, this involved
producing posters, TV and radio spots, advertising inserts in the press, and an educational video,
developing a website, and, in collaboration with driving schools, organising a training course for young
drivers.

One of the objectives of the Greek campaign was to reduce the number of alcohol-related road accidents
by 15 % in three years. The provisional statistics for 2003 show that the total number of fatalities fell by
22 percentage points between 2000 and 2003.

On 27 May 2003, the Commission held a public seminar in Brussels to assess the effectiveness of these
including the
campaigns with all the organisers.
presentation of the Greek campaign, can be found on the website for the Directorate-General for Energy
and Transport (1).

Information on the presentations that were made,

(1) http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/road/roadsafety/behaviour/alcohol/conf_designated_drivers_en.htm