European community for mobility management

The latest Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) Flash reveals that young people face the highest risks of dying while on the road: 140,000 young people aged 15 to 30 have lost their lives on European roads since 2001; 9,150 of them in 2010. The PIN Flash also reveals that young males are a group particularly at risk, making up 81% of the young people killed on EU roads. 

Portugal, Latvia and Spain are the leading countries in reducing the number of road deaths among young people and they are followed by Estonia, Slovenia and Luxembourg. Good progress has also been made in Sweden, The Netherlands and Switzerland, who have become the safest countries in terms of young people killed per young inhabitant. Young people in these countries benefitted not only from measures specific to this group but also from general road safety measures, enforcement efforts and improvements in infrastructure.

“Member States must make the fight against road deaths among young people a specific priority if they want to achieve the EU 2020 road safety target and their national targets,” said Antonio Avenoso, ETSC Executive Director, upon the publication of the PIN Flash. General road safety policies will bear fruit in reducing road deaths among young people. Specific measures for novice drivers, such as tighter blood alcohol limits, stricter demerit point systems or provisions for accompanied driving while gaining experience, will reduce the high risks they face immediately after the licence for solo driving has been awarded. “And we urge Member States not to lower the minimum age for moped riding or solo car driving when transposing the EU Driving Licence Directive into national laws”, added Professor Richard Allsop, of University College London, Chair of the PIN Programme. 

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