European Parliament resolution of 3 July 2013 on Road safety 2011-2020 — First milestones towards an injury strategy (2013/2670(RSP))
Date: 2013-07-03
Institutions: Committee on Transport and Tourism, European Parliament
Subjects: accident prevention, common transport policy, cross-border cooperation, exchange of information, first aid, health expenditure, road safety, safety device, safety standard, transport accident








C_2016075EN.01004901.xml










26.2.2016   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 75/49





P7_TA(2013)0314
Road safety
European Parliament resolution of 3 July 2013 on Road safety 2011-2020 — First milestones towards an injury strategy (2013/2670(RSP))
(2016/C 075/08)

The European Parliament,






—


having regard to its resolution on European road safety 2011-2020 of 27 September 2011 (1),










—


having regard to its resolution of 15 December 2011 on the Roadmap to a single European Transport Area — Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport system (2),










—


having regard to the Commission Communication ‘Towards a European road safety area: policy orientations on road safety 2011-2020’ (COM(2010)0389),










—


having regard to the Commission Staff Working Document ‘On the Implementation of objective 6 of the European Commission’s policy orientations on road safety 2011-2020 — First milestone towards an injury strategy’ (SWD(2013)0094),










—


having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions entitled ‘Policy orientations on road safety 2011-2020’ (3),










—


having regard to the ‘World report on road traffic injury prevention’, published jointly in 2004 by the World Bank and the WHO,










—


having regard to its report of 3 July 2012 on eCall: a new 112 service for citizens (4),










—


having regard to the question to the Commission on ‘Road safety 2011-2020 — First milestones towards an injury strategy’ (O-000061/2013 — B7-0211/2013),










—


having regard to Rules 115(5) and 110(2) of its Rules of Procedure,










A.


whereas in 2011 more than 30 000 people were killed and almost 1 500 000 were reported injured (more than 250 000 of them seriously injured) in road accidents in the European Union;










B.


whereas for every fatal accident, a further four accidents lead to permanent disabilities, 40 cause slight injuries and 10 cause serious injuries;










C.


whereas more than half of all serious injuries occur inside urban areas, especially affecting pedestrians, motorcyclists, cyclists (including pedelec users) and other vulnerable road users;










D.


whereas the major causes of road casualties and serious injuries are equipment failure, road design, poor road maintenance and driver behaviour including speed skills; whereas speed is directly related to the seriousness of injury, and whereas some Member States are considering raising their motorway speed limits;










E.


whereas involvement in road accidents is one of the leading causes of hospital admission for EU citizens aged under 45, and many serious injuries result in lifelong suffering or permanent disabilities;










F.


whereas emergency services’ response time (the ‘golden hour’ principle), including providing life-saving first aid, as well as quality of care, play an important role in surviving accidents;










G.


whereas the socio-economic cost of road traffic injuries is estimated at 2 % of GDP, or approximately EUR 250 billion for 2012 (5);










H.


whereas European actions in this regard are showing positive results;












1.


Supports the Commission’s initiative to give high priority to serious injury in road safety work;












2.


Welcomes the adoption by the Commission of a common EU definition of serious injuries, based on the globally accepted trauma classification known as the Maximum Abbreviated Injury Scale;












3.


Calls on the Member States to rapidly implement the common EU definition of serious road traffic injury and, on that basis, to collect and report statistics per transport mode, including vulnerable road users, as well as per type of road infrastructure for 2014;












4.


Urges the Commission, on the basis of the data collected, to set an ambitious target of reducing road injuries by 40 % over the period 2014-2020, and to keep the global idea of ‘Vision Zero’ as a long-term goal;












5.


Believes that the development of a common mechanism for data gathering and reporting should not prevent urgent actions being taken at EU level to reduce the number of people seriously injured on the roads;












6.


Welcomes the priorities set by the Commission for developing its global strategy, i.e. to address collision impact, accident management strategy, first aid and emergency services and long-term rehabilitation processes, and calls for the swift implementation of these priorities;






Reducing serious injuries on European roads without delay










7.


Stresses that a whole range of existing legislation and measures must be better implemented without delay in order to reduce collision impacts, increase safety for road users and reduce serious injuries;












8.


Calls on the Commission to review its legislation on passive and active vehicle safety so as to adapt it to the most recent technical progress, and to support the implementation of in-car enforcement technologies;












9.


Asks the Commission to support the development of safe and intelligent road infrastructure;












10.


Calls on the Commission to provide detailed information on how Member States are transposing Directive 2011/82/EU on facilitating the cross-border exchange of information on road safety related traffic offences;












11.


Urges the Member States to continue their efforts in fighting drink- and drug-driving and exchanging best practice for the assessment and rehabilitation of traffic offenders;






Protecting vulnerable road users










12.


Notes that pedestrians and cyclists together account for 50 % of all urban road fatalities and a large share of serious injuries;












13.


Supports the monitoring and further development of technical standards and policies for the protection of the most vulnerable road users — the elderly, young children, disabled persons and cyclists, as part of a concerted effort to promote the ‘rights of vulnerable road users’ in EU legislation and transport policy;












14.


Calls on the Commission to provide an overview of urban areas with a 30 km/h speed limit and the effects of that limit on reducing fatalities and serious injuries;












15.


Calls on the Member States to stress the importance of information and training campaigns related to safer cycling and walking and of policies aimed at promoting cycling and walking, as the safety of cyclists and pedestrians in urban areas is strongly correlated with the prevalence of cycling and walking as transport modes, where appropriate in combination with public and collective mobility;












16.


Calls on the Commission to develop urban road safety guidelines that could be included in Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans (SUMPs), and to consider linking EU cofinancing of urban transport projects to SUMPs that include EU reduction targets for road fatalities and serious injuries;






Improving first aid and emergency services










17.


Urges the Member States to support the European Emergency Number 112 and to comply with the requirements of making the Public Safety Answering Points fully operational by 2015 and implementing, as quickly as possible, an awareness campaign for their introduction;












18.


Welcomes the Commission’s proposal to ensure the mandatory deployment by 2015, in all Member States, of a public 112-based eCall system in all new type-approved cars, whilst observing data protection rules;












19.


Calls on the Commission, via the consideration of best practice in the Member States, to consider the introduction of ‘accompanied driving’ for older minors;












20.


Calls on the Member States systematically to promote first aid training as a way of increasing the reactivity of bystanders to an accident helping victims prior to the arrival of the emergency services;












21.


Calls on the Member States to encourage collaboration between emergency services and vehicle designers and manufacturers in order to ensure effective intervention and safety for the rescuer and the injured;












22.


Calls on the Member States to encourage the implementation of the e-Health systems, and especially the use of Intelligent Transport Communication systems by emergency teams, including in emergency vehicles;






Post-accident care and long-term rehabilitation










23.


Encourages the Member States to emphasise the importance of post-accident care in their health sector policies and to further improve longer-term hospital care, post-hospital care and rehabilitation, including trauma and psychological care for the survivors and witnesses of a road accident by, for example, providing assistance points to help them improve their quality of life;












24.


Calls on the Member States to improve awareness of the impact of serious injuries by developing closer links with other measures having a social impact, such as levels of impairment, disability and functional incapacity, and to develop educational programmes on road safety;




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25.


Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.






(1)  OJ C 56 E, 26.2.2013, p. 54.

(2)  OJ C 168 E, 14.6.2013, p. 72.

(3)  OJ C 166, 7.6.2011, p. 30.

(4)  Texts adopted, P7_TA(2012)0274.

(5)  Commission staff working document ‘On the implementation of objective 6 of the European Commission’s policy orientations on road safety 2011-2020 — First milestone towards an injury strategy’.