Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-01-17-Speech-3-207"
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"en.20070117.12.3-207"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, more and more people drive abroad within Europe. They include professional drivers, bus drivers, families on European tours and those who commute across borders. Why should these people tolerate poor road safety in any of the countries they drive in? Approximately 40 000 people die each year on European Union roads an ongoing tragedy affecting families. It is also a huge waste of resources. Just think how much we should gain in terms of health care if we were to halve the number of deaths on our roads.
The problem is that, in practice, European countries each place a different value on road safety and that the differences between those Member States with low standards of road safety and those with high standards continue to increase. I do not believe, however, that Europeans will accept this in the long term. We shall demand safe roads everywhere in Europe. We shall demand that the police stop drink-drivers, irrespective of their nationality. We shall demand speed limits throughout Europe and require cities to have public transport systems so that we can get about without cars. We shall demand to be able to get about safely by bicycle in urban areas. The European Parliament must respond to these demands on the part of our citizens and put pressure on the European Commission and the Member States. However, the Member States like, for the most part, to act on a national basis. Reference is made to the proximity principle. Unfortunately, this sometimes involves paralysis. Road safety must be regarded as a responsibility shared between the Member States and the EU. We now see a decline in the figures for fatalities on European roads, but the rate at which they are falling is unfortunately too slow. Measures must now be taken quickly if we are to achieve the objective of halving the number of deaths by 2010. The Member States must ensure that existing legislation is complied with and that penalties are meted out, even if the driver concerned is infringing the rules of an EU country other than his own. We are concerned primarily here with legislation on seat belts, with the observance of speed limits and with bans on the use of alcohol and drugs by drivers. This would lead directly to a dramatic reduction in the number of deaths on our roads.
It is important to involve the new Member States in road safety work. The Commission should act to bring about twinning projects, as they are called, between new and old Member States and ensure that the new Member States take part in the Commission’s expert groups. Exchanges of best practice are vitally important.
Mr President, Drink-driving is a problem in the EU that causes getting on for 10 000 deaths per year. The number of checks made on drink-driving varies from one Member State to another. We therefore need a common upper alcohol limit for the whole of the EU of 0.5 per mille, with the option of setting a lower limit. It is not, however, possible to have a 0.0 per mille limit, as decided on by the majority of the committee. Not being measurable, such a limit would be unsustainable. That point must therefore be removed from the report.
We must also improve driver instruction, and driving school instructors in the EU should therefore be certified. It is also important to make further progress on implementing the eCall system so that emergency services reach the scenes of accidents quickly. More countries must issue declarations of intent on that subject. The transport industry must also take action, and in this area the hire car companies have a major role to play because they purchase new cars every year. Were they to buy only safe cars, there would be a significant improvement to the EU’s vehicle fleet. It is the transport industry that is best placed to influence the design of vehicles. If they were to build safe vehicles and make safety equipment standard, that would be less expensive for consumers and it would save lives. An example of such equipment is alcohol locks, which prevent people who are drunk from driving. Such locks have fallen considerably in price since the market began to take off.
We should begin to regard vehicles as mobile places of work when employees use cars as part of their daily work, and health and safety legislation should therefore also apply to vehicles, thereby increasing road safety. We must, then, take a holistic view of road safety in Europe. It is a question of having safe vehicles and roads and so making life easier for road users, but also of training drivers. All the interested parties must assume their share of our common responsibility if we are to succeed in achieving our goals.
This is my last debate in the European Parliament. My term of office will come to an end on 1 February, and I wish to thank all my fellow Members for their splendid cooperation over the years, including on this report. I also wish to thank all the employees of the European Parliament, who have always facilitated our work. I would also thank everyone else – naming no names, so as not to forget anyone – with whom I have worked during my years in Parliament."@en1
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