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Mobility & Transport - Road Safety

CARE is a Community database on road accidents (commonly referred to as “crashes”)  resulting in death or injury (no statistics on damage-only accidents). The legal basis for CARE is the Council Decision on the creation of a Community database on road accidents (93/704/EC). The Decision obliges Member States to provide annual data on road accidents but does not specify the content. The variables to be collected and disseminated were subsequently discussed and agreed upon by Member States and the Commission. In this regard, a CARE expert group composed of national representatives meets 1-2 times per year to discuss issues related to the database, the variables as well as the collection, processing and dissemination of data. The major difference between CARE and most other existing international databases is the high level of disaggregation, i.e. CARE comprises detailed data on accidents, individuals and vehicles involved in the accident itself, as collected by the Member States. This structure allows for maximum flexibility and potential with regard to analysing the information contained in the system and opens up a whole set of new possibilities in the field of accident analysis. The main purpose is to provide evidence to identify and quantify road safety problems throughout the EU roads, evaluate the efficiency of road safety measures, determine the relevance of EU actions and facilitate the exchange of experience in this field. Member States officials have access to the disaggregated CARE data through a dedicated reporting.