Infrastructure
Safe road infrastructures can contribute substantially to reducing accidents. The "self-explaining road" should influence and guide the driver's behaviour, and the "forgiving road side" should protect the road users in case a vehicle crashes.
The responsibility to build and maintain safe roads lies with Member States, road administrations and infrastructure managers. However, the European Union, through its "Tunnel Directive" gives guidelines on how to make European tunnels safer for the benefit of citizens. This Directive entered into force on 1 May 2004.
The European Commission has also adopted a proposal for a Directive on road infrastructure safety management which should make roads throughout Europe safer, by requesting infrastructure builders and managers to take road safety into account in all stages of road planning and operation on the trans-European network. This proposal is currently in the legislative process.
Through its Road Safety Subvention Programme and the Community RTD Framework programmes, the Commission supports several research and user-led projects concerning road infrastructures.
