Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-06-18-Speech-3-408"
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"en.20080618.29.3-408"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, after more than one and a half years of negotiations, all the parliamentary groups, the Council and the Commission have finally agreed on a compromise for a directive on road infrastructure safety management in the EU.
Fourthly, those Member States which already possess well-functioning road infrastructure safety management systems should be permitted to continue using their existing methods, provided that the requirements of the directive are fulfilled.
Fifthly, the directive offers many useful examples of methods and criteria which can be applied in safety inspections and risk/accident analyses. It emphasises, again, the need for adequate safe parking areas.
Sixthly, and finally, it points out that new technologies should be developed and applied in order to achieve ongoing improvements in road safety.
The Commission is in a position to promote the exchange of best practice in relation to safety management on roads which are not TENs but which were built with European funding. The compromise ensures that Parliament will be adequately involved in the amendment and further development of the directive's provisions. I feel sure that the compromise achieved, which will be voted on as Block 1, will be supported by the House.
I would like to thank sincerely the shadow rapporteurs as well as the Commission and Council representatives for their intensive cooperation, even if it did not always make life easy for me. I hope that the directive will bring about the improvements that we need.
The most important aspect of this agreement is that all participants recognise that road infrastructure safety is essential to improve safety on Europe's roads. Besides the fundamental goal of a modal shift from road to rail, drivers' behaviour and vehicle safety, as well as considerate driving and compliance with traffic rules, are of course all key factors.
In these areas, various European legislation exists, albeit patchy. There are currently no common rules on infrastructure planning and maintenance, for example. This is difficult to understand, for when do roads ever stop at national borders? Surely all drivers using these roads should be secure in the knowledge that they are using a good road infrastructure?
Despite these arguments, the Committee on Transport and Tourism rejected the Commission's original proposal in its entirety by a very narrow majority of just one vote, drawing attention to the Member States' rights of subsidiarity. Both in the Council and in the Parliament, there are differing views on just how detailed and binding a directive should be. For that reason, it was essential to find compromises which did not go as far as the original Commission proposal and, indeed, my own initial draft report.
I personally would have preferred the adoption of uniform, binding although, of course, not exclusive criteria governing how roads in the EU – and not only the TENs – are planned, built, checked for their compatibility with traffic regulations and regularly inspected in terms of road safety, and if necessary improved. In my view, that would also be useful in terms of risk assessment, the key phrase here being the collection of accident data.
Unfortunately, the present proposal is merely an initial step in the right direction, but at least that is something. The Member States will, I hope, gain positive experience with these recommendations and perhaps opt for a more harmonised approach at a later date. In the recitals in particular, it is apparent that this will be a test phase which by no means precludes the option of closer cooperation in future.
As to the main content of the report, firstly, attention will be paid to safety during all stages of road design, construction and maintenance.
Secondly, road sections with the highest accident density will be subject to particularly intensive checks and signed appropriately for drivers. A further aim is to introduce similar signage at road works, for example, so that drivers spot these hazards in plenty of time during the day and at night.
Thirdly, independent staff with appropriate and regular training must play a key role in planning and inspections. While detailed harmonisation of training in the various Member States is not mandatory, Member States should work towards mutually compatible training curricula for road safety auditors."@en1
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