This document contributes to one of the mission elements of FERSI: providing support to the European Commission in defining the research needs within Europe. As result of this work of FERSI the detailed road safety developments in Europe are presented and analysed as well as compared with the major motorised countries on other continents. Also the size and the economic importance of the road safety problems in the EU are discussed as well as the EU actions related to road safety research, since the treaty of Maastricht. New EU actions related to road safety and research with possible added value for the future are proposed. Five general recommendations to the European Commission are formulated which have broader implications with respect to a European policy on road safety. With respect to research priorities for the Fifth Framework seven research areas which are in line with the objectives of the EU policy on RTD have been identified. For the seven areas about 40 research topics are formulated which are coherent and sustaining each other in the potential contribution of a marked enhancement of the road safety in the EU. The proposed research does not only reflect the research needs of the European research community on road safety, represented by FERSI. Since the FERSI members are operating closely in touch with mainly performing research for - their national road authorities, the proposals are also consistent with the national research needs of their Transport Ministries. Also great care is taken to formulate proposals that ask for research.
Abstract