12 March 2019 | Valletta, Malta 

On 28^th February, the ERF held in the Intercontinental Hotel in Malta a Workshop on Road Safety, under the auspices of Infrastructure Malta, Malta Road Safety Council and Transport Malta.

Malta is planning to realise a massive investment in the coming seven years to enhance the quality of its road network and achieve major improvement of the safety level on its roads. The Workshop served as a platform for discussions and sharing of best practices between the public authorities and ERF members.  The one day event was organised following an invitation made by Infrastructure Malta.

This workshop, attended by 20 Maltese road safety engineers and specialists, covered topics related to road safety, i.e. the European Road Infrastructure Policy, Road markings, Traffic Signs, Road Maintenance and Mobility and Road Restraint Systems and Road Side Safety. The ERF was given the opportunity to share its expertise and knowledge which stem from the work done in dedicated Working Groups and EU funded projects.

“This Workshop is the starting point of a future closer cooperation between the ERF and Infrastructure Malta” stated Christophe Nicodème, Director General of ERF. “We are pleased that road authorities are taking into consideration the importance of Road Safety, and we are looking forward to seeing more and more states taking similar initiatives.”

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.

17 May 2018| Brussels, Belgium

The European Commission releases the third set of actions to modernise European transport sector stressing the role of road infrastructure as key element of the road safety triangle complementing users and vehicles.

New actions of the mobility package include the revision of the Road Infrastructure Safety Management Directive and the General Safety Regulation with measures such as:

• Extension of current scope beyond the TEN-T network, in particular on the primary road network, which accounts for a high percentage of road fatalities
• Properly designed and maintained markings and signs, which could be easily and reliably recognised by both human drivers and vehicles equipped with driver assistance systems or higher levels of automation
• Development of general performance requirements to facilitate the recognition of road markings and road signs
• Inclusion of new safety features in vehicles, such as Lane Keeping Assistance (LKA) and Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) to better interact with the infrastructure

While recognising the positive impact of the current legislative framework, especially on the TEN-T, the ERF highly supports the new vision of the European Commission which can definitely facilitate an even bigger reduction in fatalities and serious injuries to achieve desired road safety targets.

“The initial proposal is quite promising and we hope that Council and Parliament understand that to become global leaders in road safety, we not only need a regulatory support but also financial effort, in particular on primary roads that are not part of the TEN-T but carry similar traffic flow” said ERF Director General Christophe Nicodème. “Our organisation can be seen as a trustworthy partner to build and maintain a safer road network, more specifically through dedicated Working Groups which will continue contributing to adapt road elements to the new safety challenges”.

10 November 2015 | Brussels, Belgium

Vertical signage is an essential element not only of a modern and well-maintained road infrastructure, but also of a safe and functional road network. Road signs help regulate traffic, provide crucial visual guidance, and give drivers important preview especially during night-time conditions.

Well maintained and efficient signage placement becomes even more necessary when taking into account the ageing population in Europe, in combination with the increasing cross-border traffic and the advancement of existing and new technologies. As the needs of European road users change over time, road infrastructure needs to keep up, if not lead.

In view of this, the ERF launches its Position Paper “Improved Signage for better Roads: An ERF Position Paper towards improving Traffic Signs in European Roads”. This ERF Position Paper is addressed to a broad range of stakeholders and seeks to identify key actions that ERF and its members believe should be prioritised so that traffic signs can continue serving the needs of Europe’s road users.

“Improved Signage for better Roads” Position Paper advocates, first of all, for authorities to  avoid or tackle the over-proliferation of traffic signs and to ensure that those installed display a clear message, in order to achieve better road safety and traffic flow, and good use of public resources. Road authorities need to set a multiannual maintenance action plan, either in the form of comprehensive Asset Management Plan, or the replacement of traffic Signs at fixed time intervals. Moreover, the ERF advocates for the need to adapt to the needs of an ageing driver population, by introducing a minimum maintenance standards for safety critical signs under the Vienna Convention. Last but not least, this Position Paper calls for all stakeholders involved to examine the benefits of greater harmonisation of signs within the Vienna Convention to maximise the safety benefits of new vehicle technologies (i.e. Inteligent Spee d Adaptation) as well provide for a more familiar environment for increasing cross-border traffic volumes.

The ERF Position Paper is available in English and German.