Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-01-17-Speech-3-231"
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"en.20070117.12.3-231"2
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"Mr President, may I also congratulate you on your election. What strikes me most when we debate the issue of road safety is the gulf between countries with low accident rates and few victims and those in which, despite significant improvements in recent years, the figures, tragically, remain poor.
I understand and share the position held by Mrs Petersen who, as well as having prepared an excellent report, has drawn up a most pertinent list of specific issues that must be taken into account including, the compulsory fitting of hands-free mobile telephone systems, the problem of road traffic signs, the need for cross-border cooperation in the effective implementation of penalties, the debate on the use of daytime running lights, the zero alcohol limit for young drivers, the need to be realistic when it comes to setting speed limits, the use of central reservations and the need to protect motorcyclists from deadly central barriers. I could go on, as the list is a long one.
That being said, I would emphasise that what strikes me most is the differences between countries and, over and above the rules applied, I feel that there are two key factors: on the one hand obviously the quality of vehicles and the state of road infrastructure and, on the other, drivers themselves. There are educational, and even cultural, dimensions reflected to a large extent in the figures that have come to light. I believe it is these aspects that we should mainly be looking at. Of course, what counts is not only the technology and the rules but also, and most importantly, the person driving and his or her attitude at the wheel. If a road is dangerous, a particularly careful driver can avoid an accident, whereas any form of dangerous driving could cause a tragedy regardless of how safe the road is. I am convinced that the authorities and the citizens of some countries have grasped this and that in other countries the message still has not got through at all, and must be reinforced.
Otherwise, what we have here is an important and highly relevant set of measures with which I am broadly in agreement. Perhaps it is not essential to impose the same rule on the right of way at roundabouts throughout the EU, given that there are some countries where people drive on the left; ice and snow on the roofs of vehicles is not a problem across all Member States (at least in mine it is not), but overall I recognise that most of the measures put forward are useful. I wish to finish by emphasising the point that drivers have it within their power successfully to improve road safety if they are educated and made aware of their responsibility; otherwise, they will go on causing accidents and producing victims."@en1
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