Seminar on the European coordination of road safety actions
Road safety
© Ministère de la défense
- from: 11.09.2008
- to: 12.09.2008
- In: Paris, Cercle national des Armées
On 11 September, Michèle Alliot-Marie, French Minister of the Interior, Overseas France and Territorial Collectivities, with Dominique Bussereau, French Minister of State for Transport, will open a European seminar on the coordination of road safety police forces.
40 000 lives lost on Europe's roads in 2007 and 40 000 lives to save
In 2001 the European Union set itself the target of reducing the number of road deaths from 50 000 to 25 000. With three years to go, the results remain lacklustre with 40 000 killed in 2007. Although real progress has been made, the target is far from being reached. France is among the highest achievers, with a 40% drop in deaths over the last 5 years, but with over 4 600 deaths in 2007, there is still room for improvement.
Whike the risk factors identified are similar throughout European countries - speed, alcohol and drugs, not wearing seat belts, risks taken by young drivers, the elderly, motorcyclists - policies vary depending on the States being crossed by car drivers. Furthermore, motoring offences committed by drivers of vehicles registered in another EU Member State often go unpunished.
It therefore makes sense that France is bringing the Member States together, in the context of its Presidency of the Council of the European Union, to discuss road safety. Likewise, France has made the proposal for a directive on the prosecution of offences abroad one of its key priorities in the area of transport.
Better coordination for more effective and fairer policing
On 11 and 12 September, the French Presidency, in close co-operation with the European Commission, is organising a seminar to study these different issues from a 'monitoring/sanctioning' perspective. Effective European coordination is required in this area to ensure that road safety rules are thoroughly understood by European road users and applied fairly throughout Europe.
On the basis of exchanges of knowledge and experiences, experts from some thirty countries will be called on to discuss feasible solutions to improve regulations, control systems, exchange of information, joint operations, etc.
Combating crime on the road in all its forms
Often road checks uncover trafficking in narcotics, stolen goods, arms or even human beings, or allow criminals to be intercepted on their return from a 'raid'. The general public is often unaware of this, associating road policy mainly with speed checks, but it is nevertheless an essential mission for policemen and law enforcement agents in protecting people and searching for criminals.
This road policing mission, which includes road safety, requires effective coordination on the same scale as that of criminal organisations which often operate at a European level.
- Updated: 22.09.2008
