In a declaration signed in Prague at a meeting of the Visegrad group of countries, the ministers wrote “that traffic crashes cause an unacceptable human, social and economic loss and harm physically, psychologically and materially the victims and their relatives.” They called for a target to reduce serious injuries by 40% by 2020.

Transport ministers from Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, Ireland, Lithuania and Luxembourg also backed calls for a serious injury reduction target last year.

Last month saw the European Commission, for the first time, publish a figure for the number of people seriously injured on Europe’s roads, which stood at 135,000 in 2014. 

The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) say it welcomes this “long overdue and positive step in the right direction”, but added that a long term target and specific measures to reduce the numbers seriously injured are urgently needed.