ECF has signed a joint statement along with European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), European Union Road Federation (ERF), European Transport Workers Federation (ETF) and TISPOL, the European traffic police network. The group see a huge opportunity for better and safer roads across the EU.

The currently directive applies to TEN-T, long distance, EU Funded road infrastructure, and require regular safety audits and inspections, identification and treatment of high risk sites and other measures designed to improve road safety. However the rules date back to date back to 2008, and have not been fully adapted for pedestrians and cyclists that come into contact with this infrastructure.

ECF has shown that cyclists and pedestrians are often in contact with this type of road and their needs have often been added as an afterthought. The coalition agree that the rules need to be adapted to ensure that all road users including cyclists and pedestrians are prioritised for safety measures.

The Commission proposal (which now goes to the European Parliament and the Member states in the European Council) will also proposes to widen the scope of the directive to extend the coverage of the safety rules to primary/main roads. ECF supports this as long as the directive take into account the needs of all road users. With an extended scope the rules could have a substantial benefit since just 8% of road deaths occur on motorways, with 37% in urban areas and 55% on rural non-motorway roads. Around 40% of cyclist fatalities are outside urban areas.

Within a broader scope of the Directive ECF and a specific reference to safer cyclist and pedestrian infrastructure we would also like to see EU guidelines for minimum quality criteria for cycling and pedestrian infrastructure.

ECF Position Paper on this can be found here

Press release on the Joint Statement can be found here

The Joint Statement can be found here