Motorways are the safest roads by design and regulation (see Note below). Nevertheless in 2013, around 1,900 people were killed on the motorway network in the EU, representing 7% of all road deaths. Nearly 27,500 people have died on motorways in the EU in the last ten years 2004 to 2013. Nevertheless progress has been made. Across the EU the number of people killed on motorways was cut by 49% between 2004 and 2013 (compared to 44% on the rest of the road network). Over the same period, the length of the motorway network increased by about a quarter. Lithuania, Slovakia and Spain top the ranking for annual reduction of deaths on motorways between 2004 and 2013 (Fig. 1). Motorway users in Denmark, Great Britain, Sweden and The Netherlands experience a lower level of risk than users in the rest of Europe (Fig. 2). Progress in better than average countries is a result of a comprehensive mix of measures, including improved infrastructure safety and road user behaviour (such as better compliance with speed limits or increased seat belt use). Other factors, such as improved vehicle safety and changes in mobility patterns, play a role too but these are hard to quantify. The European Commission is currently reviewing Directive 2008/96 on Road Infrastructure Safety Management (see Section 2.2) which sets road safety requirements for the EU’s Trans-European Road Network (TERN). An upcoming evaluation carried out on behalf of the European Commission concludes that, although the direct benefits and costs are difficult to assess, the possible collision reduction effect of the implementation of the Directive is in the range of 10% to 20%. The main success has been the introduction of cost-effective Road Safety Audits. This has also been seen as an important step in the direction of a more systematic discipline as well as establishing a “common language” concerning infrastructure safety. ETSC supports the European Commission’s recognition that much more benefit could be achieved by extending the principles of Directive 2008/96 to other parts of the road network, in particular rural roads, where many more road users are killed. Almost half of EU countries already apply the rules on some other parts of their national road networks. Some countries are upgrading some of their rural roads in various ways to high speed rural roads as cost-effective alternatives to motorways. Noteworthy experience mainly in Sweden shows that one form of high speed rural road can be as safe as motorways in appropriate circumstances (see Part 3). Key recommendations to EU institutions: Within the context of the review of the Infrastructure Safety Management Directive 2008/96: Extend application of the instruments of the directive to cover all motorways, rural and urban roads. Set up guidelines for providing and maintaining road markings, safety barriers and obstacle-free roadsides. Extend application of the instruments of the directive to cover tunnels and maintain all the safety requirements currently covered by the Tunnel Safety Directive 2004/54. Within the context of the revision of Regulation 2009/661 concerning Type-Approval Requirements for the General Safety of Motor Vehicles1: Extend the mandatory fitment of advanced seat belt reminders as standard equipment to all seats. Adopt legislation for the mandatory fitting all new vehicles with an overridable assisting Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) system. Introduce uniform standards for alcohol interlocks in Europe which ensure that vehicle interfaces make it possible to fit an alcohol interlock. As a first step towards wider use of alcohol interlocks, legislate to require their use by professional drivers. Extend the mandatory fitment of Lane Departure Warning Systems to all new cars and vans. Key recommendations to Member States: Implement the Infrastructure Safety Management Directive 2008/96 on all kinds of road. Apply best practice in the enforcement of speed limits, including experience in using safety cameras and time over distance cameras, seat belt use and limits on drink and drug driving. To tackle fatigue amongst professional drivers, increase levels of enforcement of tachograph rules. Eliminate all removable obstacles from the roadside; install side barriers where the obstacles cannot be removed. Install barriers friendly to powered two-wheelers in areas susceptible to motorcycle collisions. Implement engineering measures to prevent pedestrians accessing motorways. Note: Countries are compared according to their progress in reducing deaths on motorways over the last decade (Fig. 1). This report also uses as an indicator of the safety on motorways the risk of death per unit vehicle-distance driven, namely the number of deaths on motorways divided by the distance driven by vehicles on the same roads over the same period (Fig. 2). Motorways are roads with dual carriageways, at least two lanes each way; entrance and exit at signposted grade separated interchanges; central barrier or central reservation; no crossing movements at the same level; no stopping permitted unless in an emergency. Use of motorways on foot and by some types of vehicle is restricted in various ways in different countries. Although motorways are high speed roads, they are safer than other types of roads by design and regulation. Many more road users die on rural and urban roads than on motorways. These other roads are more difficult to compare internationally because of different definitions of road types and lack of detailed data on vehicle/km travelled. When available, the numbers of deaths were retrieved from the European Commission’s CARE database and completed or updated by the PIN panellists (see inside cover). The numbers of people killed on motorways are available only from 2008 to 2013 in Serbia and until 2012 in Greece. No reply was received from Bulgaria. Altogether 20 out of the 31 countries covered under the Road Safety PIN provided data on vehicle-km travelled on motorways; the IRTAD database was used to supplement this information. This analysis builds on previous country rankings on people killed on motorways in ETSC’s 2 nd Road Safety PIN Report (2008). For reductions in deaths on rural and urban roads see the 5th Road Safety PIN report (2011). These publications can be downloaded from http://etsc.eu/projects/pin/. (Author/publisher)
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