EU road safety shows 'room for improvement'

A mid-term review of an EU initiative to cut road deaths in half by 2010 has recorded an increase in road safety across the union, but states that there is still scope for improvement.

The EU Road Safety Action Programme hopes to halve the annual death rate on the union's roads of over 40,000 by 2010.

The mid-term review, presented to the EU Commission today, includes a breakdown of each member country.

Ireland's country profile states that a change in legislation allowing gardaí to carry out an appropriate form of random testing for drink-driving would be "a n important measure" and claims that a reduction of speeding would be supported by the introduction of speed cameras operated by private companies.

Speeding and drink-driving are identified as Ireland's main road safety problems.

The mid-term review finds that, at the present rate, road deaths in the European Union in 2010 are likely to stand at 32, 500, 7,000 below the stated target of 25,000 which it says is unlikely to be met.

The report finds that while road safety is improving across the EU, room for improvement remains.

Britain, Netherlands and Sweden are best when it comes to road safety, while France has improved the most - reducing the number of accidents by 32 per cent from 2001 to 2004. Irish road deaths fell by 8 per cent in the same period, below the EU average of 14 per cent.

The report finds that all parties must do more "and do it better" in order to achieve the ambitious common objective.

The EU Commission will give consideration to additional measures within the framework of the mid-term review of the Transport White Paper.