Commission proposes Infrastructure Safety Directive

Publication date: 09 October 2006

In its efforts to halve the number of road fatalities by 2010, the European Commission has adopted a proposal (COM(2006) 569 - COD(2006) 0182) for a directive aiming at improving safety on the major roads through infrastructure measures and better engineering.

com2006_569_infrastructure.pdf (249 KB)

Jacques Barrot, European Commission Vice-President in charge of transport, welcomed the adoption of the proposal. He underlined that in order to bring down the high number of road fatalities, a comprehensive road safety programme was needed that builds on three pillars: infrastructure, vehicles and drivers. He said: "Many lives could be saved and many accidents avoided if the existing road infrastructure was managed according to the best available know-how on safety engineering."

The draft directive aims to bring road safety management to higher standards throughout the EU. It defines guidelines and best practices for all stages of infrastructure management, including road safety impact assessments, road safety audits, network safety management and safety inspections. The directive does not impose technical standards or procedures but invites Member States to make better use of existing procedures and practices.

The Commission estimates that the proposed measures, if applied to the major roads, i.e. the Trans-European road network, could reduce the number of accidents with injuries by 7000 and avoid the loss of 600 lives every year.

For more information:
- Draft Directive on road infrastructure safety management (COM(2006) 569)
- Impact Assessment (executive summary and full text)
- Results of the Commission Consultation
- FIA position paper

com2006_569_infrastructure.pdf (249 KB)

sec2006_infrastructure.pdf (71 KB)

sec2006_infrastructure_long.pdf (148 KB)