The celebration of the third European Road Safety Days, between 13 and 14 October has been the occasion to evaluate the results of the main policies put in place in this matter. During these two days Brussels has hosted a Conference where the main aspects related to the fight against road accidents, the existing risks as well as the role of infrastructures have been at stake.

This Conference held for the celebration of the Third European Road Safety Days, has also granted a special relevance to cross-border fight against the offences which cause most deaths.

The road safety conference was also the occasion to present the strategic guidelines on European road safety policy for the period 2011-20, as adopted by the Commission on 20 July. The main topics addressed during the conference focused on the treatment granted to the injured, the specific  problems of several categories of road users, such as ageing population, cyclists, motorcyclists and drink-drivers, as well as the problem of the safety of road infrastructure.

The second part of the conference, which is an initiative of the Belgian Presidency, was centred around a seminar devoted to improving coordination between the police and judicial bodies in order to combat the most serious offences beyond national borders.

The number of road deaths has fallen considerably throughout the EU since 2001. Global data show a decrease of 44% including an estimate for 2010, and in some countries these figures rise up to even more progress, such as Latvia with a fall of 55%, or Portugal, Estonia, Lithuania, Spain and France, where the number of road deaths has fallen by half compared to 2001.

However, safety remains a major problem for society. In 2009 more than 35.000 people died on the EU's roads, equivalent to the population of a medium-sized town. For every person who dies on a European road, it is estimated that 4 people are permanently disabled by injuries such as brain or spinal injuries, 10 are seriously injured and 40 suffer minor injuries. The economic consequences for society are estimated at 130 billion Euro a year.