Access to transport is essential for the participation and inclusion in social and economic life, and indispensable for independence and personal fulfilment. Journeys on the roads - as drivers or pedestrians - constitute a large majority of all journeys undertaken in Europe. Persons with reduced mobility are often dependent on their private cars, as public transport does not always fulfil accessibility requirements. Despite this, the road environment today is more often than not insufficiently adapted to the needs of disabled people, which constitute a great barrier for their equal use of the public roads and as a consequence limit their independence and inclusion. Every year within the European Union there are also about 40 000 persons who lose their lives on the European roads, and many thousands become disabled or injured in other ways. In addition, evidence shows that disabled people are at an increased risk of involvement in such road accidents. Ensuring accessible and safe roads benefits everybody, as accessibility means also comfort and high quality. It is therefore crucial that measures are taken, in close cooperation with accessibility experts from the disability movement, in order to ensure that everybody, including disabled people, can benefit from a safe and accessible road transport environment. For the covering abstract see ITRD E139491.
Abstract