Unless they put in more effort, the EU and its member states are set to miss the bloc’s ambitious medium- and long-term goals of halving and gradually eliminating fatalities and serious injuries from traffic accidents, according to a new report by the European Court of Auditors. Despite the European Commission’s comprehensive approach, progress in reducing road deaths and serious injuries has stagnated in recent years, casting serious doubt on the EU’s ability to get both close to zero by 2050. By 2030, deaths are set to fall by only a quarter instead of the planned half of the figure for 2019, when 22 800 people were killed on EU roads.

Road accidents are a frequent cause of premature death in the EU. Vulnerable users such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists are particularly at risk, as they account for almost 50 % of deaths, ahead of car occupants (45 %). For every life lost, an estimated five more people suffer serious injuries.

“The EU has come a long way on road safety, but many lives are still being lost every day on our roads,” said Eva Lindström, the ECA Member who led the audit. “At the current rate of progress, the goal of halving fatalities this decade will not be achieved. If the EU and its member states want to meet their goals, they must move their efforts up a gear.”

In 2022 (the last year on record with complete data), 20 640 people lost their lives on EU roads. The average fatality rate in the EU was 46 road deaths per million: Sweden had the lowest rate with 22, while Romania had the highest with 86. To meet the 2030 goal, an annual EU-wide cut of 4.6 % would be needed, but over the last five years the rate has averaged only 2.5 % a year. EU road safety goals can only be achieved if member states put the necessary policies and funding in place, as they are the ones in the driving seat when it comes to implementing certain measures that could directly improve road safety. To help them prevent fatalities and serious injury, the Commission has adopted a multi-layered approach: the EU Safe System, which is based on eight pillars, including safe vehicles, road infrastructure, and road use. The auditors find the approach comprehensive, but they also point to shortcomings. For example, the Commission’s monitoring of member states’ performance is not yet effective. In addition, EU action does not cover all risk areas, such as speed, which – together with drink-driving, not wearing seatbelts, and driver distraction – is one of the main causes of accidents.

Between 2014 and 2020, the EU provided around €6.7 billion for projects that contributed to road safety. However, EU requirements do not cover infrastructure with the most fatalities, such as urban areas, cycle paths, and non-primary roads. At the same time, levels of progress in road safety approaches vary significantly between EU countries. Interestingly, the value attributed to human life differs considerably between member states when it comes to estimating projects’ economic benefits. Also, road safety was not a key criterion when selecting projects to improve it, as it competed with other priorities such as greener transport. Moreover, selection criteria often failed to target accident hotspots. As EU funding for road safety may decrease in the years to come, it will be even more important to ensure that it is put to best use in order to save lives.

Background information

Road safety is a major societal issue in the EU. The Commission’s role is mainly to coordinate the EU’s activities, especially at cross-border level. Europe has the lowest road fatality rate in the world: EU road deaths have fallen substantially since 2000, down by 36 % between 2010 and 2020, but the rate was far short of the planned 50 %. Meeting EU objectives may become more difficult, as it will be increasingly hard to achieve significant improvements from what is already a good level of performance. The auditors examined the Commission’s action, and carried out audit visits in four member states – Spain, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia – all with different track records on road safety. The audit comes against the backdrop of an ageing car fleet and the new challenges posed by personal mobility devices (e.g. e-scooters) and autonomous vehicles. The 2023 preliminary figures on road fatalities, issued on 8 March 2024, confirm the slow progress, with only a 1% decrease on 2022.