Directive 2008/96/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on road infrastructure safety management
Date: 2008-11-19
Institutions: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Subjects: road network, road safety, transport infrastructure, transport network

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DIRECTIVES

DIRECTIVE 2008/96/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 19 November 2008

on road infrastructure safety management

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community, and in particular Article 71(1)(c) thereof,

establishing the European

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and
Social Committee (1),

After consulting the Committee of the Regions,

Acting in accordance with the procedure
Article 251 of the Treaty (2),

laid down in

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

development of

the European Parliament and of

The trans-European road network defined in Decision No
1692/96/EC of
the
Council of 23 July 1996 on Community guidelines for
the
trans-European transport
network (3),
is of paramount importance in supporting
European integration and cohesion as well as ensuring
a high level of well-being. In particular, a high level of
safety should be guaranteed.

the

time

for 2010:

to decide’

In its White Paper of 12 September 2001 ‘European
transport policy
the
Commission expressed the need to carry out safety
impact assessments and road safety audits,
in order to
identify and manage high accident concentration sections
within the Community. It also set the target of halving
the number of deaths on the roads within the European
Union between 2001 and 2010.

(3)

In its Communication of 2 June 2003 ‘European Road
Safety Action Programme, Halving the number of road
accident victims in the European Union by 2010: A

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(1) OJ C 168, 20.7.2007, p. 71.
(2) Opinion of the European Parliament of 19 June 2008 (not yet
and Council Decision of

Journal),

published in the Official
20 October 2008.

shared responsibility’
the Commission identified road
infrastructure as the third pillar of road safety policy,
which should make an important contribution to the
Community’s accident reduction target.

In recent years, major advances have been made in
vehicle design (safety measures and the development
and application of new technologies) which have
helped to reduce the number of people killed or
injured in road accidents. If the target set for 2010 is
to be achieved, action must be taken in other areas too.
Managing the safety of road infrastructure offers plenty
of scope for
improvement, which must be used to
advantage.

for

the

improving the safety of

The setting up of appropriate procedures is an essential
tool
road infrastructure
within the trans-European road network. Road safety
impact assessments should demonstrate, on a strategic
level,
implications on road safety of different
planning alternatives of an infrastructure project and
they should play an important role when routes are
being selected. The
road safety impact
results of
assessments may be set out in a number of documents.
Moreover, road safety audits should identify, in a detailed
way, unsafe features of a road infrastructure project. It
therefore makes
sense to develop procedures to be
followed in those two fields with the aim of increasing
safety of road infrastructures on the trans-European road
network, whilst at the same time excluding road tunnels
which are covered by Directive 2004/54/EC of
the
European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April
2004 on minimum safety requirements for tunnels in
the trans-European road network (4).

Several Member States already possess well functioning
road infrastructure safety management systems. These
countries should be permitted to continue using their
existing methods,
in so far as they are consistent with
the aims of this Directive.

Research is vital to improving safety on the roads within
the European Union. Developing and demonstrating
(including tele­
components, measures and methods
matics) and disseminating research results play an
important part in increasing the safety of road infra­
structure.

(3) OJ L 228, 9.9.1996, p. 1.

(4) OJ L 167, 30.4.2004, p. 39.

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(8)

(9)

accident

Safety performance of existing roads should be raised by
targeting investments to the road sections with the
highest
the highest
accident reduction potential. To be able to adapt their
behaviour and increase compliance with traffic rules, in
particular speed limits, drivers should be made aware of
road sections with a high accident concentration.

concentration and/or

Network safety ranking has a high potential immediately
after its implementation. Once road sections with a high
accident concentration have been treated and remedial
measures have been taken,
safety inspections as a
preventive measure should assume a more important
for
role. Regular
preventing possible dangers for all road users, including
vulnerable users, and also in case of roadworks.

inspections are an essential

tool

(10)

Training and certification of safety personnel by means
of training curricula and tools for qualification validated
by the Member States should ensure that practitioners get
the necessary up-to-date knowledge.

(11) With a view to improving safety on the roads within the
European Union, arrangements should be made for more
frequent and more consistent exchanges of best practices
among the Member States.

(12)

(13)

(14)

on

apply

guidelines

reporting on their

In order to ensure a high level of road safety on the
roads within the European Union Member States
infrastructure
should
safety
those guidelines to
management. The notification of
the Commission and regular
im­
plementation should pave the way for the systematic
improvement of
infrastructure safety at Community
level and provide a basis for the evolution towards a
more effective system over time. The reporting on their
implementation
allow other
Member States to identify the most effective solutions,
while the systematic collection of data from before/after
studies should allow selecting the most effective measure
for future action.

furthermore,

should,

this Directive which relate

The provisions of
investment
prejudice to the Member States’ powers as
investment in the upkeep of the road network.

to
apply without
regards

in road

should

safety

Since the objective of this Directive namely the estab­
lishment of procedures to ensure a consistently high
level of road safety throughout the trans-European road
network cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member
States and can therefore, by reason of the effects of the
action, be better achieved at Community level,
the
in accordance with
Community may adopt measures,
the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of
the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of propor­
tionality, as set out in that Article, this Directive does not
go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that
objective.

(15)

(16)

(17)

(18)

The measures necessary for the implementation of this
Directive should be adopted in accordance with Council
Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the
procedures for
implementing powers
the exercise of
conferred on the Commission (1).

In particular the Commission should be empowered to
adopt the criteria necessary for the improvement of road
safety management practices and the adaptation of the
annexes to technical progress. Since those measures are
of general scope and are designed to amend non-essential
elements of this Directive, inter alia, by supplementing it
with new non-essential elements, they must be adopted
regulatory procedure with
in accordance with the
scrutiny provided for
in Article 5a of Decision
1999/468/EC.

Sufficient roadside parking areas are very important not
only for crime prevention but also for
road safety.
Parking areas enable drivers to take rest breaks in good
time and continue their journey with full concentration.
The provision of sufficient safe parking areas should
therefore form an integral part of road infrastructure
safety management.

In accordance with point 34 of
the Interinstitutional
Agreement on better law-making (2), Member States are
encouraged to draw up, for themselves and in the interest
of the Community, their own tables, which will, as far as
possible, illustrate the correlation between this Directive
and their transposition measures, and to make them
public,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

Subject matter and scope

This Directive requires the establishment and implemen­
1.
tation of procedures relating to road safety impact assessments,
road safety audits, the management of road network safety and
safety inspections by the Member States.

2.
This Directive shall apply to roads which are part of the
trans-European road network, whether they are at the design
stage, under construction or in operation.

this
3. Member States may also apply the provisions of
road
Directive, as a set of good practices,
included in the trans-European
transport
road network, that was constructed using Community funding
in whole or in part.

infrastructure, not

to national

(1) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.
(2) OJ C 321, 31.12.2003, p. 1.

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This Directive shall not apply to road tunnels covered by

4.
Directive 2004/54/EC.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions shall
apply:

1.

‘trans-European road network’ means the road network iden­
tified in Section 2 of Annex I to Decision No 1692/96/EC;

2.

3.

4.

5.

‘competent entity’ means any public or private organisation
set up at national, regional or local
involved in the
implementation of this Directive by reason of its compe­
tences,
including bodies designated as competent entities
which existed before the entry into force of this Directive,
in so far as they meet the requirements of this Directive;

level,

safety

impact

assessment’ means
‘road
strategic
comparative analysis of
the impact of a new road or a
substantial modification to the existing network on the
safety performance of the road network;

a

‘road safety audit’ means an independent detailed systematic
and technical safety check relating to the design characteris­
tics of a road infrastructure project and covering all stages
from planning to early operation;

‘ranking of high accident concentration sections’ means a
method to identify, analyse and rank sections of the road
network which have been in operation for more than three
years and upon which a large number of fatal accidents in
proportion to the traffic flow have occurred;

6.

‘network safety ranking’ means a method for identifying,
analysing and classifying parts of the existing road network
according to their potential
for safety development and
accident cost savings;

7.

‘safety inspection’ means an ordinary periodical verification
of the characteristics and defects that require maintenance
work for reasons of safety;

8.

‘guidelines’ means measures adopted by Member States,
which lay down the steps to be followed and the elements
to be considered in applying the safety procedures set out in
this Directive;

Article 3

Road safety impact assessment for infrastructure projects

1. Member States shall ensure that a road safety impact
assessment is carried out for all infrastructure projects.

2.
The road safety impact assessment shall be carried out at
the initial planning stage before the infrastructure project is
approved. In that connection, Member States shall endeavour
to meet the criteria set out in Annex I.

The road safety impact assessment shall indicate the road
3.
the
safety considerations which contribute to the choice of
proposed solution.
It shall further provide all relevant infor­
mation necessary for a cost-benefit analysis of the different
options assessed.

Article 4

Road safety audits for infrastructure projects

1. Member States shall ensure that road safety audits are
carried out for all infrastructure projects.

2. When carrying out road safety audits the Member States
shall endeavour to meet the criteria set out in Annex II.

Member States shall ensure that an auditor is appointed to carry
out an audit of the design characteristics of an infrastructure
project.

shall be appointed in accordance with the
The auditor
provisions of Article 9(4) and shall have
the necessary
competence and training provided for in Article 9. Where
audits are undertaken by teams, at least one member of the
team shall hold a certificate of competence as referred to in
Article 9(3).

3.
Road safety audits shall form an integral part of the design
process of the infrastructure project at the stage of draft design,
detailed design, pre-opening and early operation.

4. Member States shall ensure that the auditor sets out safety
critical design elements in an audit report for each stage of the
infrastructure project. Where unsafe features are identified in the
course of the audit but the design is not rectified before the end
of the appropriate stage as referred to in Annex II, the reasons
shall be stated by the competent entity in an Annex to that
report.

9.

‘infrastructure project’ means a project for the construction
of new road infrastructure or a substantial modification to
the existing network which affects the traffic flow.

5. Member States shall ensure that the report referred to in
paragraph 4 shall result in relevant recommendations from a
safety point of view.

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Article 5

Safety ranking and management of the road network in
operation

concentration sections

the ranking of high
1. Member States shall ensure that
accident
and the network safety
ranking are carried out on the basis of reviews, at least every
In that
three years, of
connection, Member States
the
criteria set out in Annex III.

the road network.

the operation of

endeavour

to meet

shall

2. Member States shall ensure that road sections showing
higher priority according to the results of the ranking of high
accident
concentration sections and from network safety
ranking are evaluated by expert teams by means of site visits
guided by the elements referred to in point 3 of Annex III. At
least one member of
the
expert
requirements set out in Article 9(4)(a).

team shall meet

the

3. Member States shall ensure that remedial
is
the road sections referred to in paragraph 2.
targeted at
Priority shall be given to those measures referred to in point
3(e) of Annex III paying attention to those presenting the
highest benefit-cost ratio.

treatment

4. Member States shall ensure that appropriate signs are in
place to warn road users of road infrastructure segments that
are undergoing repairs and which may thus jeopardise the safety
of road users. These signs shall also include signs which are
visible during both day and night time and set up at a safe
distance and shall comply with the provisions of the Vienna
Convention on Road Signs and Signals of 1968.

5. Member States shall ensure that road users are informed
of the existence of a high accident concentration section by
appropriate measures. If a Member State decides to use sign­
posting, this shall comply with the provisions of the Vienna
Convention on Road Signs and Signals of 1968.

4. Without prejudice to the guidelines adopted pursuant to
Article 8, Member States shall adopt guidelines on temporary
safety measures
also
implement an appropriate inspection scheme to ensure that
those guidelines are properly applied.

applying to roadworks. They shall

Article 7

Data management

1. Member States shall ensure that for each fatal accident
occurring on a road referred to in Article 1(2) an accident
report is drawn up by the competent entity. Member States
shall endeavour to include in that report each of the elements
listed in Annex IV.

2. Member States shall calculate the average social cost of a
fatal accident and the average social cost of a severe accident
occurring in its territory. Member States may choose to further
differentiate the cost rates, which shall be updated at least every
five years.

Article 8

Adoption and communication of guidelines

1. Member States shall ensure that guidelines, if they do not
already exist, are adopted by 19 December 2011, in order to
support
this
Directive.

the competent entities

in the application of

2. Member States shall communicate these guidelines to the
Commission within three months of
adoption or
amendment.

their

The Commission shall make them available on a public

3.
website.

Article 6

Safety inspections

Article 9

Appointment and training of auditors

1. Member States shall ensure that safety inspections are
undertaken in respect of the roads in operation in order to
identify the road safety related features and prevent accidents.

1. Member States shall ensure that,
if they do not already
exist, training curricula for road safety auditors are adopted by
19 December 2011.

2.
Safety inspections shall comprise periodic inspections of
the road network and surveys on the possible impact of
roadworks on the safety of the traffic flow.

2. Member States shall ensure that where road safety auditors
carry out functions under this Directive, they undergo an initial
training resulting in the award of a certificate of competence,
and take part in periodic further training courses.

3. Member States shall ensure that periodic inspections are
undertaken by the competent entity. Such inspections shall be
sufficiently frequent to safeguard adequate safety levels for the
road infrastructure in question.

3. Member States shall ensure that road safety auditors hold
a certificate of competence. Certificates awarded before the entry
into force of this Directive shall be recognised.

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4. Member States shall ensure that auditors are appointed in
compliance with the following requirements:

(a)

they have relevant experience or training in road design,
road safety engineering and accident analysis;

(b) from two years after the adoption by the Member States of
the guidelines pursuant to Article 8, road safety audits shall
only be undertaken by auditors or teams to which auditors
belong, meeting the requirements provided for in para­
graphs 2 and 3;

(c)

for the purpose of the infrastructure project audited, the
auditor shall not at the time of the audit be involved in
the conception or operation of the relevant infrastructure
project.

Article 10

Exchange of best practices

In order to improve the safety of roads within the European
Union that are not part of the trans-European road network, the
Commission shall establish a coherent system for the exchange
of best practices between the Member States, covering, inter alia,
existing road infrastructure safety projects and proven road
safety technology.

Article 11

Continuous improvement of safety management practices

1.
The Commission shall facilitate and structure the exchange
of knowledge and best practices between Member States,
making use of the experience gained in existing relevant inter­
national
continuous
improvement of safety management practices concerning road
infrastructures in the European Union.

view to achieving

forums, with a

The Commission shall be assisted by the Committee
2.
referred to in Article 13. In so far as the adoption of specific
such measures
measures
shall be adopted in
required,
is
accordance with the
regulatory procedure with scrutiny
referred to in Article 13(3).

3. Where appropriate, relevant non-governmental organis­
ations, active in the field of safety and management of road
infrastructures, may be consulted on matters related to technical
safety aspects.

Article 12

Adaptation to technical progress

The Annexes to this Directive shall be adapted to take account
of
regulatory
in accordance with the
procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 13(3).

technical progress

Article 13

Committee procedure

1.

The Commission shall be assisted by a Committee.

2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and
7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the
provisions of Article 8 thereof.

The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC
shall be set at three months.

3. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5a(1)
to (4) and Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply,
having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.

Article 14

Transposition

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations
and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this
Directive by 19 December 2010. They shall forthwith commu­
nicate to the Commission the text of those provisions.

2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the
text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in
the field covered by this Directive.

Article 15

Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the 20th day following
the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European
Union.

Article 16

Addressees

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Strasbourg, 19 November 2008.

For the European Parliament
The President

H.-G. PÖTTERING

For the Council
The President

J.-P. JOUYET

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ANNEX I

ROAD SAFETY IMPACT ASSESSMENT FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

1. Elements of a road safety impact assessment:

(a) problem definition;

(b) current situation and ‘do nothing’ scenario;

(c) road safety objectives;

(d) analysis of impacts on road safety of the proposed alternatives;

(e) comparison of the alternatives, including cost-benefit analysis;

(f) presentation of the range of possible solutions.

2. Elements to be taken into account:

(a)

fatalities and accidents, reduction targets against ‘do nothing’ scenario;

(b) route choice and traffic patterns;

(c) possible effects on the existing networks (e.g. exits, intersections, level crossings);

(d) road users, including vulnerable users (e.g. pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists);

(e)

traffic (e.g. traffic volume, traffic categorisation by type);

(f)

seasonal and climatic conditions;

(g) presence of a sufficient number of safe parking areas;

(h) seismic activity.

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ANNEX II

ROAD SAFETY AUDITS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS

1. Criteria at the draft design stage:

(a) geographical

location (e.g. exposure to landslides, flooding, avalanches), seasonal and climatic conditions and

seismic activity;

(b)

types of and distance between junctions;

(c) number and type of lanes;

(d) kinds of traffic admissible to the new road;

(e)

functionality of the road in the network;

(f) meteorological conditions;

(g) driving speeds;

(h) cross-sections (e.g. width of carriageway, cycle tracks, foot paths);

(i)

(j)

horizontal and vertical alignments;

visibility;

(k)

junctions layout;

(l)

public transport and infrastructures;

(m) road/rail level crossings.

2. Criteria for the detailed design stage:

(a)

layout;

(b) coherent road signs and markings;

(c)

lighting of lit roads and intersections;

(d) roadside equipment;

(e) roadside environment including vegetation;

(f)

fixed obstacles at the roadside;

(g) provision of safe parking areas;

(h) vulnerable road users (e.g. pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists);

(i) user-friendly adaptation of road restraint systems (central reservations and crash barriers to prevent hazards to

vulnerable users).

3. Criteria for the pre-opening stage:

(a) safety of road users and visibility under different conditions such as darkness and under normal weather

conditions;

(b) readability of road signs and markings;

(c) condition of pavements.

4. Criteria for early operation: assessment of road safety in the light of actual behaviour of users.

Audits at any stage may involve the need to reconsider criteria from previous stages.

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ANNEX III

RANKING OF HIGH ACCIDENT CONCENTRATION SECTIONS AND NETWORK SAFETY RANKING

1. Identification of road sections with a high accident concentration

The identification of road sections with a high accident concentration takes into account at least the number of fatal
accidents that have occurred in previous years per unit of road length in relation to the volume of traffic and, in case
of intersections, the number of such accidents per location of intersections.

2. Identification of sections for analysis in network safety ranking

The identification of sections for analysis in network safety ranking takes into account their potential savings in
accident costs. Road sections shall be classified into categories. For each category of roads, road sections shall be
analysed and ranked according to safety-related factors, such as accidents concentration, traffic volume and traffic
typology.

For each road category, network safety ranking shall result in a priority list of road sections where an improvement of
the infrastructure is expected to be highly effective.

3. Elements of evaluation for expert teams’ site visits:

(a) a description of the road section;

(b) a reference to possible previous reports on the same road section;

(c)

the analysis of possible accident reports;

(d) the number of accidents, of fatalities and of severely injured persons in the three previous years;

(e) a set of potential remedial measures for realisation within different timescales considering for example:

— removing or protecting fixed roadside obstacles,

— reducing speed limits and intensifying local speed enforcement,

— improving visibility under different weather and light conditions,

— improving safety condition of roadside equipment such as road restraint systems,

— improving coherence, visibility, readability and position of road markings (incl. application of rumble strips),

signs and signals,

— protecting against rocks falling, landslips and avalanches,

— improving grip/roughness of pavements,

— redesigning road restraint systems,

— providing and improving median protection,

— changing the overtaking layout,

— improving junctions, including road/rail level crossings,

— changing the alignment,

— changing width of road, adding hard shoulders,

— installing traffic management and control systems,

— reducing potential conflict with vulnerable road users,

— upgrading the road to current design standards,

— restoring or replacing pavements,

— using intelligent road signs,

— improving intelligent transport systems and telematics services for interoperability, emergency and signage

purposes.

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ANNEX IV

ACCIDENT INFORMATION CONTAINED IN ACCIDENT REPORTS

Accident reports include the following elements:

1. precise as possible location of the accident;

2. pictures and/or diagrams of the accident site;

3. date and hour of accident;

4.

information on the road such as area type, road type, junction type incl. signalling, number of lanes, markings, road
surface, lighting and weather conditions, speed limit, roadside obstacles;

5. accident severity, including number of fatalities and injured persons, if possible according to common criteria to be

defined in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 13(3);

6. characteristics of the persons involved such as age, sex, nationality, alcohol level, use of safety equipment or not;

7. data on the vehicles involved (type, age, country, safety equipment if any, date of last periodical technical check

according to applicable legislation);

8. accident data such as accident type, collision type, vehicle and driver manoeuvre;

9. whenever possible,

information on the time elapsed between the time of the accident and the recording of the

accident, or the arrival of the emergency services.