Speaking on the eve of the European Road Safety Day in Athens, ACEA secretary general Erik Jonnaert said: ‘Road transport fatalities have almost halved in the past decade. But more can be done if all stakeholders join forces.’

Mr Jonnaert explained ACEA’s vision on road safety, which involves taking an “integrated approach”: ‘90% of accidents are caused by drivers, so it is only by combining better vehicles with upgraded infrastructure and improved driver training that we can further lower accident rates.’

The ACEA also called relevant stakeholders for more support on expanding intelligent transport systems (ITS), which it said are key to improving safety on the roads.

‘By lowering risk exposure – for example by using cleverly-designed infrastructure that encourages sensible, attentive driving – accidents can be significantly reduced. It is the widely varying approaches to traffic management that explain the large variance in road safety outcomes between EU member states,’ added Mr Jonnaert.