Calls for the EU to set a target on reducing the number of people seriously injured in road collisions have been backed up by newly published research carried out for the European Commission.

The report carried out for the European Commission supports calls for an EU target to reduce serious road injuries

Official targets to reduce road deaths have been in place since 2001, but there is no equivalent for serious injuries. The Commission was expected to set a target to reduce serious road injuries in the first half of last year, after announcing that it would ‘shortly’ do so in a press release in March 2015.

The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) adds that while the number of deaths on European roads has fallen dramatically over the last decade, serious injuries have declined at a much slower rate. A total of 135,000 people were seriously injured on European roads in 2014, according to figures published by the European Commission for the first time in April.

The new research was conducted to collect knowledge that will enable the future identification of measures for effective prevention of serious road traffic injuries, and provides support that a number of measures that are known to be effective for the prevention of fatal crashes could also help reduce serious injuries.

The study also identified many of the key risk factors and victim profiles which could help member states identify the best measures to reduce such collisions.

According to the researchers, common characteristics for severely injured car occupants show that two-thirds are male and are typically younger drivers, travelling on rural roads with speeds limits up to 70kph. Crashes commonly take place in afternoons and winter months and contributing factors include loss of control, speeding and psychoactive substances.

Cyclists are most likely to be seriously injured when travelling in urban areas with 50kph speed limits – with more collisions occurring in summer months, and in the afternoon.  Pedestrians, however, are more at risk in winter months, with the elderly and children the most likely victims.

Seriously injured motorcyclists and car occupants are most likely to be male and young – though middle aged motorcyclists are also heavily represented in the collision statistics.

Amongst the recommendations, the researchers added: “Defining a severe injury target could help to increase awareness, information gathering and policy efforts directed at the reduction of serious injuries. Benchmarking between Member States can provide further opportunities to learn from each other.”

Antonio Avenoso, executive director at the ETSC, responded to the research, saying: “Serious injuries on our roads continue to have a devastating impact on millions of victims and their families. We know that EU targets, combined with the right measures have had a dramatic effect on reducing deaths. It’s essential that we now apply the same thinking to serious injuries. We have the data, and this new report highlights the situations and groups that would most benefit, so it’s time for the Commission to finally give the green light.”