Brussels - When it comes to road safety, the European Union is in a bit of a jam.

National governments, eager not to become backseat drivers on this sensitive issue, allow their policies to be shaped by tradition and vested interests.

Car manufacturers still prefer to talk "horsepower" rather than "airbags" and pressure groups led by relatives of road accident victims are tempted to offer misguided advice based on emotion rather than reason.

The result is a patchwork of at times contradictory rules and strategies pursued across the 27-members bloc.

Meanwhile, officials in Brussels have been forced to admit that their ambitious target of halving the number of casualties on Europe's roads by 2010 is unlikely to be met.

According to the latest available data provided by the EU's executive arm, the Commission, road deaths totalled 41,600 in 2005, down just 17.5 per cent from the 2001 figure of around 50,000. Motorcyclist deaths actually rose by 5.6 per cent between 2000 and 2003.

"At the present rate, road deaths in the European Union in 2010 are likely to stand at 32,500 and the target of a maximum of 25,000 will probably not be achieved," said the Commission in a memo dated February 22, 2006.

Road-related deaths are not simply a matter of personal grief for the families and friends of the victims. The socio-economic cost of road accidents is estimated at around 200 billion euros (288 billion dollars) per year, or 2 per cent of the EU's Gross Domestic Product.

And the wide variation in road-casualty data across the EU suggests national governments bear much of the responsibility for making their roads safe.

The countries with the best track-record in this area are those in which the issue has long been perceived as an emergency.

In the Netherlands, Sweden and Britain, for instance, the annual number of victims per million inhabitants ranges between 50 and 60, well below the EU average of 95.

 1 2 3 Next >