In a vote today (9 September) on a review of European transport policy since 2011, MEPs called for, “the swift adoption of a 2020 target of a 40% reduction in the number of people seriously injured, accompanied by a fully fledged EU strategy”. 

Since 2010 the number of people seriously injured on EU roads has been reduced by just 1.6%, compared to an 18% decrease in the number of road deaths. Last year the numbers actually went up, by more than 3% compared to the previous year, with at least 203,500 people suffering life-changing injuries. 

The calls for a serious road injury target have been welcomed by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), which has long argued for the need for a separate pan-European target to reduce serious road injuries, to complement the targets that have been in place since 2001 to reduce deaths, and says the European Commission has backtracked on its plans.

Now the ETSC has joined with more than 70 experts and representatives of road safety organisations and victims groups from across Europe together with 12 members of the European Parliament in a letter to President Jean-Claude Juncker urging him to adopt the overdue target.  

Later this month, the United Nations will adopt a set of sustainable development goals including a target to cut road deaths and injuries by half by 2020. The target will also apply to all member states of the EU.  

Antonio Avenoso, executive director of ETSC, said: "Today's vote, combined with the bold new targets to be agreed by the UN at the end of September should give new impetus to the Commission to come forward with an EU serious road injury target and measures to meet it by the end of this year. 

“Serious injuries in road collisions are a terrible burden on more than 200,000 people every year, and must be addressed. Setting a target will send the political signal needed to start getting the numbers down significantly."