Commission launches Road Safety Exchange project with 12 Member States and announces winners of the 2019 Road Safety Awards

The European Commission and the EU Member States have committed to the target of reducing fatalities and serious injuries on the roads by 50% between 2020 and 2030. The European Commission constantly underlines this commitment and yesterday launched a unique and EU-funded road safety project bringing together twelve EU Member States to share ideas for improving road safety – “The EU Road Safety Exchange”. The three-year project aims to tackle the disparities in the road safety performance in different EU Member States. Six countries (Bulgaria, Greece, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, and Romania) looking to improve their safety records will link up with relevant experts from Austria, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden to share best practices on key issues such as reducing speed, building safe infrastructure and improving enforcement, data collection, and finding new measures to address the safety of pedestrians and cyclists. The European Commission also presented the Excellence in Road Safety Awards 2019 at a ceremony held in Brussels, handed over by Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc. Six organisations were rewarded for their contribution to improving road safety. Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc said: “We must work together and share best practices to reach Vision Zero – zero deaths and serious injuries on our roads by 2050. The innovative and inspirational initiatives recognised in our annual awards as well as the launch of the Road Safety Exchange project show the collective commitment from Member States, local communities, stakeholders and citizens. Together, we can best tackle these challenges and further improve road safety on our way to Vision Zero.”