30 March 2019 | Cologne, Germany

On 28^th March, the ERF  organised a 2 hour workshop during the 2019 edition of DeuSAT (Conference and exhibition event on road equipment) in Cologne following an invitation by the IVSt (German Association of Road Equipment). 

This was the first time that IVSt and ERF cooperated for the organisation of such a workshop during the DeuSAT event and the topic of the WS was: ‘Which opportunities the 3^rd Mobility Package brings us?’

The recent developments offered by the 3^rd European Mobility package, with the revision of the Road Infrastructure Safety Management Directive and the General Safety Regulation will definitely have an impact on the road industry and the purpose of the session was to inform the representatives of the German road industry about the opportunities for the road sector.

Mr. Troppmann (European Commission DG MOVE) presented a general overview of the Mobility package, as well as some specific aspects of the RISM Directive, the General Safety Regulation (GSR) for cars and the EU Road Safety Policy Framework for 2021-2030.

ERF Director General, Christophe Nicodème, presented the point of view of the industry and the last part of the session consisted on presentations on road markings and signs, delivered by Harald Mosböck (member of the Board of ERF) and Rik Nuyttens (ERF President).

CN explained that the ERF considered the extension of the scope of the RISM Directive, as well as the proposed minimum performance requirements for road markings and signs to be a unique opportunity for the road industry to promote quality and performance of the European roads.

He concluded his presentation saying: “As the only European organisation representing the whole sector of the road infrastructure, the ERF is there to promote the quality and performance of road equipment and is also there to support the German road industry”.

6 December 2018 | Brussels, Belgium

The first edition of the ERF Lab was organised in the Espace MontePaschi Belgio gathering opinions from stakeholders different than the road industry but with high involvement in future patterns of mobility.

The latest technological developments and new trends in the global mobility framework are already impacting the road infrastructure sector and will do so even more in the future. The road infrastructure has to respond to these new challenges and look ahead to be ready for this evolving disruptive process.

Inspired by the series of Lab events organised during the last 2 years by the Spanish Road Association (AEC), the ERF Lab chose to start a series of Lab events, by gathering experts of transport, urban planning, mobility, artificial intelligence, service providers, representatives from private and public sectors. The philosophy of these ERF Labs is to foster cooperation and dialogue between all major players of the mobility and in particular road mobility.

Hence the organisation of the first edition of the ERF Lab on 6th December. The event was structured around two major topics: ‘Connecting the road infrastructure’ and ‘Ecosystems for better mobility’.

Keynote speakers from private, public and institutional sectors presented their vision and expertise with the participants. Presentations were followed by an interactive and animated discussion between all.

This first edition also coincided with the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the ERF, which has established itself as a reference for representing the road infrastructure sector during the past 20 years, and it will continue to contribute to consolidate the leadership of roads as transport mode in the future.

Further to the success of this first Lab, the ERF will regularly organise other similar events, fostering the dialogue and interaction between professionals, academics and researchers.

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.