The directive 2008/96/EC on Road Infrastructure Safety Management (RISM) defines procedures that were supposed to ensure the safety of trans-European road network. The procedures cover different stages and aspects of planning, design and operation of major roads but up until 2019 have almost exclusively focused on the safety of car-occupants. The needs of other road users such as cyclists and pedestrians had often been overlooked in the process, resulting in e.g. an important cycle route being cut off from the rest of the network by a motorway interchange.
What have we achieved?
Member States shall ensure that the needs of vulnerable road users are taken into account in the implementation of the procedures [...]
In February 2019, the key EU institutions agreed on a revised version of the RISM, recognising the need to pay more attention to the safety of cyclists and pedestrians. The revision was accepted by the European Parliament plenary in April 2019 and published and published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 26 November 2019. The amended directive includes many important improvements that ECF has lobbied for in the past two years.
Read about key changes in the directive on Road Infrastructure Safety Management (November 2019)
The next steps
After publication, the EU Member States have two years to transpose the update into national regulations. On the EU level, our main focus is currently on the quality requirements for pedestrian and cycling infrastructure, that, according to the revision, shall be developed by the European Commission. At the same time, ECF offers webinars and workshops for its member organisations and the Cities and Regions for Cyclists network with more detailed information about opportunities created by the new regulations.
Past position papers
- ECF position on the proposed directive on Road Infrastructure Safety Management (detailed amendments to Commission's proposal, September 2018)
- ECF position on the EU regulatory framework for Road Infrastructure Safety Management (submitted in consultations in September 2017)
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