Actions including revising minimum safety standards for new vehicles and improving infrastructure safety on the network could help reduce deaths in single motor vehicle collisions (SVCs) in the EU.

The report has been published in response to the number of European road deaths.

That’s the finding of a new report by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), which highlights that nearly 7,300 road users lost their lives in 2015 in SVCs in the EU.

According to the report, the number of deaths in SVCs has decreased at a slightly lower pace than deaths in multi-motor-vehicle collisions.

In response, the ETSC report makes key recommendations on reducing road deaths, in particular, calling on the EU to revise minimum safety standards for new vehicles to make overridable Intelligent Speed Assistance, Autonomous Emergency Braking and advanced seat belt reminders on all passenger seats mandatory in all new cars.

The report also calls on member states to ensure that the road design and speed limits are appropriate to the road’s function, pointing to the Netherlands and Denmark, which have high safety standards for rural roads.

The ETSC also calls on national governments to conduct in-depth accident investigations in appropriate representative samples of collisions resulting in serious injuries and deaths, to identify possible roadside improvement measures.

To access the report, click here.