1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:16,000 In a Europe where traffic is increasingly heavy, road safety affects us all. To remind 2 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:21,040 us of that, from now on there's going to be a European Road Safety Day every year. 3 00:00:21,040 --> 00:00:25,500 The aim is to invest as much energy as possible in reducing the death toll from road accidents 4 00:00:25,500 --> 00:00:47,860 throughout the European Union. 5 00:00:47,860 --> 00:00:52,940 On the upside, the number of lives saved every year since 2001 has gone up markedly in line 6 00:00:52,940 --> 00:00:59,040 with forecasts. In 2006, 12,000 lives were saved. 7 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:03,620 On the downside, even if the number of victims is lower, there are still nearly 38,000 people 8 00:01:03,620 --> 00:01:08,380 killed on Europe's roads each year. Some countries have a death toll three times higher than 9 00:01:08,380 --> 00:01:15,900 others. So how realistically can the target of saving 25,000 lives a year be achieved? 10 00:01:15,900 --> 00:01:22,500 First continue to address the big three – speed, alcohol or drugs, and not wearing a seatbelt, 11 00:01:22,500 --> 00:01:27,820 which remain the principal causes of accidents. 12 00:01:27,820 --> 00:01:32,660 Although behaviour is changing, the battle is far from won. Alcohol and drugs still claim 13 00:01:32,660 --> 00:01:36,900 too many victims, particularly young people at weekends. 14 00:01:36,900 --> 00:01:40,060 There are still a lot of parents who don't keep an eye on their children to make sure 15 00:01:40,060 --> 00:01:46,140 they always wear a seatbelt. Because in an accident at 50 km an hour, a child of 30 kilos 16 00:01:46,140 --> 00:01:51,540 transforms into a projectile weighing more than a tonne. 17 00:01:51,580 --> 00:01:57,580 And excessive speed is moreover often linked with not respecting safe distances between cars. 18 00:01:59,300 --> 00:02:04,140 Alongside the awareness campaigns, the European Commission wants to see tougher roadside checks 19 00:02:04,140 --> 00:02:09,580 as well as sanctions which really have teeth. It's calling particularly for more international 20 00:02:09,580 --> 00:02:16,500 cooperation, so the defences committed abroad have a better follow-up. 21 00:02:16,500 --> 00:02:21,740 The second issue is that of vulnerable users, such as motorcyclists. To escape the traffic 22 00:02:21,740 --> 00:02:27,620 jams, increasing numbers of people are swapping cars for motorcycles. As a consequence, the 23 00:02:27,620 --> 00:02:32,660 number of motorcyclists killed on the roads is not going down. So how can this issue be 24 00:02:32,660 --> 00:02:34,660 addressed? 25 00:02:34,660 --> 00:02:39,820 In Paris, for the President of Club 14, an international association for motorcyclists, 26 00:02:39,820 --> 00:02:40,820 there is a priority. 27 00:02:40,820 --> 00:02:47,820 The progressive motorbike licence has already been agreed at European level. So it will 28 00:02:48,820 --> 00:02:55,820 be gradually introduced by member states over the next few years in the progress of the 29 00:02:56,820 --> 00:03:01,820 harmonisation of driving licences. There are many aspects to look at when considering motorcycle 30 00:03:01,820 --> 00:03:06,820 safety. How can they be made more visible in traffic? How can the road network or the 31 00:03:06,820 --> 00:03:09,820 highway code be better understood? 32 00:03:09,820 --> 00:03:14,820 The European Commission wants to see tougher roadside checks as well as sanctions which 33 00:03:14,820 --> 00:03:19,820 really have teeth. To escape the traffic jams, increasing numbers of people are swapping 34 00:03:19,820 --> 00:03:24,820 cars for motorcycles. To escape the traffic jams, increasing numbers of people are swapping 35 00:03:24,820 --> 00:03:27,820 cars for motorcycles. To escape the traffic jams, increasing numbers of people are swapping 36 00:03:28,820 --> 00:03:31,820 cars for motorcycles. 37 00:03:33,820 --> 00:03:53,460 A 38 00:03:54,820 --> 00:04:08,820 safety factor is the road infrastructure and the vehicles themselves. Both are constantly 39 00:04:08,820 --> 00:04:13,500 improving. The simple replacement of road intersections with roundabouts reduces the 40 00:04:13,500 --> 00:04:19,420 risk of serious accidents. But there are still large numbers of black spots. So the Commission 41 00:04:19,420 --> 00:04:25,020 is also proposing a mandatory safety audit of all known danger areas. On the manufacturing 42 00:04:25,020 --> 00:04:31,260 side there's been undeniable progress. New developments include the fact that ABS must 43 00:04:31,260 --> 00:04:36,900 soon be fitted on all road motorbikes while for cars the next revolution is ESC, electronic 44 00:04:36,900 --> 00:04:42,060 stability control. A system offered by many manufacturers but which should be used more 45 00:04:42,060 --> 00:04:46,460 widely even in small cars. 46 00:04:46,460 --> 00:04:54,740 It corrects the speed on the wheels and it helps you to stay inside the turn. It basically 47 00:04:54,740 --> 00:05:03,100 corrects your error when you are coming into a turn in a speed which is inappropriate. 48 00:05:03,100 --> 00:05:05,380 That's basically what it is. 49 00:05:05,380 --> 00:05:09,300 The car of the future will offer more and more of this sort of technology for avoiding 50 00:05:09,300 --> 00:05:14,780 accidents. But drivers need to invest more in this security system rather than in purely 51 00:05:14,780 --> 00:05:19,380 aesthetic or comfort options. And above all they should not lapse into a false sense of 52 00:05:19,380 --> 00:05:21,980 security. 53 00:05:21,980 --> 00:05:27,820 We can help the driver to avoid to make errors or to correct some of the errors. But it's 54 00:05:27,820 --> 00:05:34,220 totally impossible to make sure that all the errors are either avoided or corrected by 55 00:05:34,220 --> 00:05:39,860 technologies. It must be done by the drivers. The ultimate responsibility will always be 56 00:05:39,860 --> 00:05:43,060 with the driver. 57 00:05:43,060 --> 00:05:48,060 For heavy goods vehicles the commission wants to make blind spot mirrors mandatory, even 58 00:05:48,060 --> 00:05:55,060 on existing trucks, as this is something which causes many serious accidents. 59 00:06:14,060 --> 00:06:19,060 In general, more and more public and private organisations are also getting involved in 60 00:06:19,060 --> 00:06:24,060 the fight for better road safety. For example, by signing the European Road Safety Charter. 61 00:06:24,060 --> 00:06:29,060 Businesses, institutions and associations are making concrete commitments towards improving 62 00:06:29,060 --> 00:06:33,060 safety and safety of the road. 63 00:06:33,060 --> 00:06:38,060 The European Road Safety Charter is the most important road safety law in the world. It 64 00:06:39,060 --> 00:06:46,060 already had more than 700 signatories, representing more than 25 million people. 65 00:06:46,060 --> 00:06:52,060 The city of Cologne, for example. It's carrying out an awareness campaign for young people, 66 00:06:52,060 --> 00:06:58,060 school children and the elderly, while also making road safety a common theme in all its 67 00:06:58,060 --> 00:07:03,060 urban planning. 68 00:07:03,060 --> 00:07:09,060 That's why we have introduced a road safety audit here in Cologne. That means that every 69 00:07:09,060 --> 00:07:16,060 plan that is created by us or created by engineer offices, undergoes a so-called road safety 70 00:07:16,060 --> 00:07:23,060 audit, where the planning is checked for its quality in terms of road safety. 71 00:07:23,060 --> 00:07:30,060 Cologne is planning to install speed bumps in all areas around schools, and also in the 72 00:07:31,060 --> 00:07:38,060 next three years. So safer roads are possible. 73 00:07:38,060 --> 00:07:43,060 But saving 25,000 lives every year doesn't just happen through tough legislation. What's 74 00:07:43,060 --> 00:07:48,060 needed most of all is a profound change of mentality, and for everyone to get involved. 75 00:07:48,060 --> 00:07:53,060 Because after all, road safety is everybody's business.