The EU is aiming to facilitate the flow of goods and people between EU countries by linking the national road networks. It will eventually be responsible for the safety audits of the new network.
Most road networks in the EU were developed from a national viewpoint. The aim of TEN is to build a transport network that would facilitate the flow of goods and people between EU countries. The Trans-European Transport Network is set to encompass 90 000 km of motorway and high-quality roads by 2020. The EU will eventually have a role in the safety management of the roads belonging to TEN through safety audits at the design stage and regular safety inspections of the network.
The RIPCORD-ISEREST project examined different ways for engineers to conduct safety inspections of roads. It resulted in recommendations for best practices in road safety inspections, which were published in a brochure.
The European Commission devised a syllabus for training road safety auditors in a uniform fashion throughout the EU through the EURO-AUDITS project. This training became necessary due to new EU legislation requiring audits of all road networks in all EU countries, including those in which road audits were uncommon until then.
Useful links
Legislation
- EU directive 2004/54 – safety requirements for tunnels in the trans-European road network
- EU directive 2008/96 – road infrastructure safety management
- EU directive 2002/22 – universal service (electronic communications networks)
- EU recommendation (2003) – location-enhanced emergency call services
- EU decision 93/704 – EU database on road accidents
- EU directive 80/181 – national units of measurement
- EU directive 2009/3 – UK/Ireland use of 'miles'