The new Directive 2008/96/CE, of the European Parliament and the Council on road infrastructure safety management, has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union, OJEU, on December 1st, 2008.  The Directive aims at the establishment of procedures to ensure a consistently high level of road safety throughout the trans-European road network which cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States, applying the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality.

The setting up of appropriate procedures is an essential tool for improving the safety of road infrastructure within the trans-European road network. Road safety impact assessments should demonstrate, on a strategic level, the implications on road safety of different planning alternatives of an infrastructure project and they should play an important role when routes are being selected.

Within this scope, the European Commission, in its White Paper of September, 12th 2001 “European transport policy for 2010: time to decide”, expressed the need to carry out safety impact assessments and road safety audits, in order to identify and manage high accident concentration sections within the Community. It also set the target of halving the number of deaths on the roads within the European Union between 2001 and 2010.

Directive 2008/96/CE therefore requires the establishment and implementation of procedures relating to road safety impact assessments, road safety audits, the management of road network safety and safety inspections by the Member States.

The Directive will apply to roads which are part of the trans-European road network, whether they are at the design stage, under construction or in operation.

However, Member States may also apply the provisions of this Directive, as a set of good practices, to national road transport infrastructure, not included in the trans-European road network, that was constructed using Community funding in whole or in part.

Safety ranking and management of the road network in operation

Member States will ensure that the ranking of high accident concentration sections and the network safety ranking are carried out on the basis of reviews, at least every three years, of the operation of the road network. The identification of road sections with a high accident concentration will take into account at least the number of fatal accidents that have occurred in previous years per unit of road length in relation to the volume of traffic and, in case of intersections, the number of such accidents per location of intersections.

Early this year, in March 2008, and within this same scope, the Commission adopted a proposal for a Directive aimed at facilitating the cross-border prosecution of traffic offences which imperil road safety, in view to adopt technical measures and legal instruments to enable EU drivers to be identified and thus prosecuted for offences committed in a Member State other than the one where his or her vehicle is registered.

The Directive sets forth the data which accident reports should include, such as:

• Precise as possible location of the accident.
• Pictures and/or diagrams of the accident site.
• Date and hour of accident.
• Information on the road such as area type, road type, junction type incl. signalling, number of lanes, markings, road surface, lighting and weather conditions, speed limit, roadside obstacles.
• Accident severity, including number of fatalities and injured persons, if possible according to common criteria to be defined.
• Characteristics of the persons involved such as age, sex, nationality, alcohol level, use of safety equipment or not.
• Data on the vehicles involved (type, age, country, safety equipment if any, date of last periodical technical check according to applicable legislation).
• Accident data such as accident type, collision type, vehicle and driver manoeuvre.
• Whenever possible, information on the time elapse.

In relation to road safety audits for infrastructures projects, the Directive defines a set of criteria for the assessment both for draft and detailed design stage, for pre-opening stage and for early operation (i.e., assessment of road safety in the light of actual behaviour of users).

The Commission also recognises the vital role which research plays to improving safety on the roads within the European Union. Developing and demonstrating components, measures and methods (including telematics) and disseminating research results play an important part in increasing the safety of road infrastructure.

In recent years, major advances have been made in vehicle design (safety measures and the development and application of new technologies) which have helped to reduce the number of people killed or injured in road accidents. If the target set for 2010 is to be achieved, action must be taken in other areas too. Managing the safety of road infrastructure offers plenty of scope for improvement, which must be used to advantage.

The Directive will enter into force on December, 19th, 2008, and Member States will bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by December, 19th 2010. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions.