The number of road deaths in the European Union fell 2% last year but much more work is needed by Member States to ensure EU targets are met.

The ETSC says stong political will and urgent measures are still needed in all Member States to get on track with EU targets

So says the European Transport Safety Council as it publishes a new report showing that road safety progress in the European Union has stagnated for the last four years.

The latest Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) report shows road deaths have decreased by just 3% over four whole years since 2013; substantially short of the decrease of 6.7% needed annually to meet the EU target of cutting road deaths by half over the decade to 2020.

Out of the 32 countries monitored by the PIN Programme, 22 reduced road deaths in 2017. The best results were achieved by Estonia with a 32% decrease, Luxembourg with 22%, Norway with 21% and Slovenia with 20%. Road deaths increased in eight countries, while progress stagnated in Slovakia and Lithuania.

In total, 25,250 people lost their lives on EU roads in 2017 – the equivalent of two passenger planes crashing and killing everyone on board every week.

Just a month ago, the European Commission announced plans to set a new road safety target to halve road deaths again by 2030 compared to 2020 levels. But the ETSC said Member States and the European Parliament still need to approve the proposals, and a range of more immediate measures will be needed to make significant progress in the near future.

Antonio Avenoso, executive director of the European Transport Safety Council said: “If two passenger planes fell out of the sky every week in Europe, the public and political response would be transformational.  And improvements in aviation safety in Europe over the last fifty years have been just that.  We now need a matching system-wide approach to road safety.

“Last month, the European Commission announced bold measures to save lives on European roads with safer vehicles and safer infrastructure.  But these measures need political support from Member States to avoid being watered down and they will take time.

“Governments across the EU must also up their game in months, not years, with better enforcement and urgent measures to reduce the main causes of death and serious injury, namely speeding, drink driving, distraction and failure to wear a seatbelt.”