Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-06-18-Speech-3-422"
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"en.20080618.29.3-422"2
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"Mr President, I wish to congratulate Mr Markov not just for the quality of his report but also for his perseverance in concluding it, in spite of the obstacles put in his way, mainly by some members of the Transport Committee – perhaps inadvertently.
It is, indeed, regrettable that, when dealing with a report whose sole aim is to save thousands of EU citizens’ lives, certain colleagues, using perhaps suspiciously and British-imperially, nationalistically motivated legalistic excuses, have tried to stop this proposal by the Commission from being advanced on apparent subsidiarity grounds. Perhaps some of us ought to consider more carefully the view that what Europe needs today is more unity and cohesion and less subsidiarity. Nevertheless, the delay caused is not without some benefit also, for it has given a chance to the rapporteur to better his report by incorporating, amongst other things, many amendments tabled to the first report draft.
This is much welcomed. On the substance of the report, my main point is that I agree with the rapporteur that Annexes I, II and III should be binding. If these were not to be so, then the value of this proposal would surely diminish.
I would like to conclude by taking the opportunity of reminding the House and the Commissioner of two important issues on road safety. Firstly, an effective high-friction coefficient road surface can reduce the stopping distance of a vehicle by as much as 50%. This can make an enormous difference in reducing car accidents on our roads.
My second point is not directly related to this report but is worth making again and again at every possible opportunity. It is this: one third of all fatal car accidents are alcohol-related. Many are attributed to alcohol levels in drivers’ blood which are below the existing legal limits. Citizens and ourselves should not be fooled. There is no safe alcohol level in drivers. Any alcohol intake impairs driving capability. If we want to reduce substantially the number of people killed on our roads then we ought to consider implementing a policy of zero alcohol level in drivers."@en1
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