On Wednesday in Strasbourg, the MEPs demanded that the EU states make greater efforts to improve road safety. In addition, Parliament proposed that bike and footpaths created in the corona pandemic should be left in place and expanded.
“If we improve the infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians, for example, we promote the reduction of our carbon footprint, healthy active mobility and we make it safer,” said Helena Dalli, EU Commissioner responsible for gender equality in the Strasbourg Parliament. “Pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists now account for 70 percent of road deaths in our cities,” she added.
The MEPs welcomed the EU’s plan to reduce the number of road deaths and serious injuries in Europe to “almost zero” by 2050. According to the EU Parliament, around 23,000 people died in road accidents in 2019 alone.
In view of the boom in electric scooters and other electrically powered vehicles, the EU Parliament criticized the lack of legislation in some member states and different rules in the individual countries, which “can make it difficult for visitors to follow local regulations”. MEPs also called for people with disabilities and reduced mobility to be better taken into account when planning and building roads.
