The Communication “Europe on the Move – Sustainable Mobility for Europe: safe, connected and clean” of May 2018 has confirmed safety must always be the top priority. As mobility continues to grow and is radically transformed by digitisation, decarbonisation and innovation, all opportunities to further improve safety performance must be seized.
The EU’s roads safety record is very good, but the EU and its Member States cannot afford to be complacent and must continue to strive for fewer casualties. A fundamental long-term goal is moving close to zero fatalities in road transport by 2050, and the same should be achieved for serious injuries. The Communication has also set new interim targets of reducing the number of road deaths by 50% between 2020 and 2030 as well as reducing the number of serious injuries by 50% in the same period, as recommended in the Valletta Declaration.
To help achieve these goals, the Commission is proposing a common framework that must be implemented by applying a "Safe System" approach.
“The core element of a “Safe System” approach is ensuring safe vehicles, safe infrastructure, safe road use and better post-crash care.”The core element of a “Safe System” approach is ensuring safe vehicles, safe infrastructure, safe road use and better post-crash care.
For the Safe System approach to work, application and monitoring are essential to improve the safety of vulnerable road users in Europe, including of course motorcyclists. Experience shows that achieving these ambitious goals requires the engagement and the commitment of all public and private actors, in a coordinated manner, at all levels.
Against this background, I welcome the motorcycle industry’s road safety strategy “The safe ride to the future 2.0”.
The motorcycle industry’s strategy covers advanced safety technology and future connectivity, as one would expect from vehicle manufacturers. It also goes beyond the vehicle, covering high quality post-licence training and seeking cooperating with all important stakeholders at European and national level.
The industry initiative “European Motorcycle Training Quality Label” has been strongly supported by the European Commission. High-quality safety training is a fundamental element in the safe system approach. This is one of the reasons why the Label received the Road Safety Charter Award in the category “voluntary commitments”, in 2019.
We commend the commitment of ACEM and fully support the call to national, regional and local policy makers to embrace inclusive motorcycle transport safety policies. Let’s continue to work together towards better road safety for all on Europe’s roads.
Adina Valean
European Commissioner for Transport
