This study compares traffic regulations law in various European countries. The countries included in the study were France, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and Germany. Its objective was to analyse how rules of conduct affect above all the more vulnerable road users, in other words pedestrians and cyclists. The regulations which apply to these two groups of road users were considered, in addition those regulations which govern the conduct of motor vehicle drivers in relation to pedestrians and cyclists. Particular attention was paid to those regulations affecting children, elderly people and the disabled. The principal finding was that major discrepancies exist between the seven countries investigated. These differences are not simply in the individual regulations which apply, but in the underlying legal principles. British law, for instance, places greater emphasis on individual responsibility than other legal systems. The new Dutch Road Traffic Regulations have introduced a high degree of deregulation. The differences for pedestrians are to be found in such areas as the obligation to use pedestrian crossings and the sequence of signals at pedestrian lights. There are even more discrepancies for cyclists, for example the priority rules, the use of cycle paths by mopeds, whether cyclists are allowed to use bus lanes or not, and when children may be carried on the cycle or in trailers. Despite various differences and the increasing volume of cross-border traffic, the national ministries responsible for traffic are showing little interest in the idea of harmonising regulations. Since uniform European Road Traffic Regulations cannot be expected in the foreseeable future, the study proposes the compilation of a European road users' guide book which, without attempting to be a substitute for the various national traffic codes, should contain the principal rules which apply in each European country. (Author/publisher)
Abstract