The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) welcomes the initiative of the European Commission to review the legislation on the protection of pedestrians and other vulnerable road users (VRUs). It is of paramount importance that the EU takes steps to improve the safety of this often neglected category of road users. In 2013, 5542 pedestrians and 2002 cyclists were killed on European Union roads. As more car occupant deaths are prevented every year due to better in-vehicle protection, the decrease in the number of vulnerable road users’ deaths and serious injuries has not followed the same pace. Figure one highlights this difference. Thus there is an urgent need to further improve vehicle crash design for those outside of the vehicle. Different factors can influence impact severity between motor vehicles and cyclists or pedestrians, the most important being speed of travel, vehicle mass and the level of crash protection provided by the vehicle. Pedestrian-friendly car fronts resulting from regulations, are a key element of the EU’s road safety framework. Pedestrians are the most numerous and the most vulnerable of all road users and, while presenting no danger on the road themselves, they have no protection. Pedestrians represent around 21% of total EU (28) road traffic deaths and face larger risks on urban roads as around two thirds of these deaths occur in urban areas. Cyclists killed account for 8% of all road deaths and big disparities exist between European countries and the share can be higher in countries where cycling is more predominant. It is also worth noting that there is a high level of underreporting of collisions involving pedestrians and cyclists. Cars are the most frequent collision partner with VRUs and the majority of pedestrians and cyclist fatalities were caused by collisions with cars, 68% and 52% respectively. Also, most pedestrian and cyclist fatalities occurred on urban roads, 69% and 56% respectively. ETSC argues that both passive and active in-vehicle safety have an important role in reducing the number of pedestrian and cyclist collisions. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting