Public consultation launched on how to help victims of road accidents abroad
The European Commission launched a public consultation that has as main aim to help victims of cross-border traffic accidents. They may currently face difficulties because of varying time limits for claiming compensation for damage in case of an accident abroad in the EU. The contributions to the consultation can be made until 19 November.
The European Commission is gathering views through a public consultation in order to know how to help victims of road accidents abroad. The consultation will run until 19 November. Today, different national rules lead to a confusing situation for victims, who may miss the sometimes short deadlines and end up receiving no compensation at all. The aim of the consultation is to get a better idea of the scale of the problem and to assess potential solutions. The Commission published in March 2012 that the progress in cutting road fatalities was significantly slowed in 2011.
The consultation is particularly addressed at road traffic accident victims, all those who travel abroad with their car, legal practitioners, insurers and any other interested individual or organisation. Possible solutions that are addressed in the public consultation range from improving information to victims of cross-border road accidents, to harmonising limitation and prescription periods (the time limits for bringing legal action for damages following an accident).
Estimates of the amount of people involved in cross-border traffic accidents vary, as no centralised statistics are available. However, it is likely that at least 2% of road accidents in the EU involve visitors from another EU country. These may be holidaymakers, cross-border workers (such as lorry drivers) or people who commute across borders to their workplace.