This Memorandum briefly outlines ETSC’s priorities for the Belgian Presidency of the EU and presents our recommendations on key EU policy dossiers. Belgium has one of the newest car fleets running on one of the densest motorway networks in the world, but its roads are still far from being the safest. Belgium has moved from 145 deaths per million population in 2001 to 90 in 2009. Although this reduction in deaths is laudable, the number of road deaths per population in 2009 is still 20% above the EU average. The quick indicators of March 2010 show that the number of road deaths is increasing again and much work still needs to be done to reach the goal of limiting to 750 deaths on Belgian roads. Key issues include tackling the relatively low level of seat belt wearing, increasing speed compliance and tackling the level of driving whilst under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Efforts must also be made to upgrade the safety levels of the infrastructure above and beyond the requirements set in the new EU Directive on Infrastructure Safety Management. (Author/publisher)
Abstract