European Parliament – ERF https://erf.be European Union Road Federation Mon, 06 Jul 2020 13:11:59 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.5 https://erf.be/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/cropped-fav-32x32.png European Parliament – ERF https://erf.be 32 32 Green light for the revision of the Road Infrastructure Safety Directive https://erf.be/green-light-for-the-revision-of-the-road-infrastructure-safety-directive/ Tue, 26 Feb 2019 16:29:50 +0000 http://erf.be/?p=3457

26 February 2019 | Brussels, Belgium

On 21 February, negotiations between the European Parliament and the European Council on the new Road Infrastructure Safety Directive achieved a milestone with the agreement on the future scope and the inclusion of good condition for markings and signs in order to facilitate the deployment of new mobility trends.

Regarding the scope, the main improvement relies on the extension beyond the current TEN-T network and covering all “primary roads” as well as all non-urban roads built using EU funding. This decision was welcomed by the ERF and other road safety organisations stressing the necessity to reduce accident rates in those sections.

Another key element in the discussions was the condition of road markings and signs. Legislators stressed the importance of these elements especially to ensure safe driving conditions both for humans and vehicles with automated driver assistance systems.

In order to formalise the interinstitutional agreement, the document will be endorsed by the Council and the Transport Committee of the European Parliament before final adoption in the coming weeks.

 “The outcome of the negotiations is welcomed by the ERF, as these positions reflect efforts completed by the road infrastructure sector to improve road safety in the EU” says Christophe Nicodeme, Director General of the European Union Road Federation. “Proper road conditions are extremely important not only for the development and deployment of autonomous driving, but for the overall safety of European road users. We are pleased to witness the EU is heading to the right direction.”

Currently, the ERF is preparing a set of recommendations on minimum performance for road markings which will offer guidance to regulators in order to ensure effective readability and detectability of the infrastructure by humans and vehicles.

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]]> Campaign on infrastructure safety for motorcyclists launched at the European Parliament https://erf.be/campaign-on-infrastructure-safety-for-motorcyclists-launched-at-the-european-parliament/ Wed, 26 Sep 2018 17:19:40 +0000 http://erf.be/?p=3160

26 September 2018 | Brussels, Belgium

The European Union Road Federation (ERF) and the Federation of European Motorcyclists’ Associations (FEMA) organised a breakfast event “‘Road Infrastructure Safety – The Motorcyclists’ Vision”. The event took place at the European Parliament and was hosted by MEP Wim van de Camp.

In the coming months, road safety will be at the EU agenda with the revision of the Road Infrastructure Safety Directive and the preparation of the coming Road Safety Action Programme 2020-2030. In this sense, the ERF and FEMA have launched a joint position paper ‘Improving infrastructure safety for powered two-wheelers’ that calls for specific measures focused on motorcycle protection.

Only in 2017 power two-wheelers fatalities (motorcycles and mopeds) counted for 17% of the total road victims, while accounting only for 1,8%  of the total traffic flow. Both ERF and FEMA strongly believe that road safety for motorcyclists can be improved by looking at the design of road infrastructure.

In his introduction, Mr Van de Camp referred to the social cost of accidents that authorities need to take into consideration, as well as how responsibility is shared among involved parties in case of an accident.

Afterwards, Dolf Willigers, FEMA General Secretary, gave a presentation regarding the challenges that motorcyclists’ face in terms of infrastructure. More specifically, Mr Willigers pointed out that lack of proper design and poor maintenance can have fatal consequences for vulnerable road users, motorcyclists included.

Following the motorcyclist’s perspective, the ERF President, Rik Nuyttens, addressed  a presentation on how the infrastructure can be adapted to better accommodate the needs of the above mentioned road user groups by improving signs, markings, bariers and pavements.

The last part of the event was dedicated to an exchange of views between the participants. The main point made during this discussion was that although maintenance is important, this is mostly funded by regional and national authorities, therefore it is important that these authorities are constantly informed about the needs of road users, especially the vulnerable ones. Another important element, which participants agreed on, was that harmonised road equipment is extremely important when it comes to preventing road accidents and thus preventing road fatalities.

ERF and FEMA will continue the awareness campaign during the coming months presenting the document in specialised fora, conferences and to other stakeholders involved in road safety.

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