Improving road safety in general will help to improve the safety of young drivers, but there is a need for additional measures specifically targeted at young drivers. Young people aged 15–24 are overrepresented in traffic accidents in Finland, which is also in accordance with the rest of Europe. Thus, we need to influence policy makers to apply the scientific findings on how to actively increase road safety among young drivers.
Brussels and London - A 20 km/h factory-set speed limit, larger wheels, a ban on passengers and pavement riding, compulsory helmets and a minimum age of 16.
The increased access to the internet has facilitated the trade of goods or services ordered online called e-commerce. E-commerce is a rapidly evolving sector. With 94% of Belgian inhabitants having access to the internet, 80% of them are e-shoppers. Additionally, 7 in 10 Belgians shopped at least once to up to five times during the past three months from the survey conducted in 2021 by EUROSTAT1. Belgium is the 29th largest market in the world for e-commerce with a turnover of 11.7 billion euros in 2021.
As we approach International Youth Day (12 August), it feels like an important time to highlight the risks our young people face every day driving on our roads.
The fact that young novice drivers are over-represented in crashes is not a surprise. We must go back to the early 1960s to discover the first-time young drivers came into the eye of the storm in road traffic statistics, and this is the case in all developed nations with mass motorisation.
The European Commission has presented the REPowerEU Plan, its response to the hardships and global energy market disruption caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Today the European Commission published preliminary figures on road fatalities for 2021. An estimated 19,800 people were killed in road crashes last year. This was an increase of 1,000 deaths (+5%) in 2020, but still represents almost 3,000 (-13%) fewer fatalities compared to the pre-pandemic period in 2019. The overall target is to halve the number of deaths by 2030. EU-wide, the last decade saw a fall of 36%.
The Flemish Foundation for Traffic Knowledge (Vlaamse Stichting Verkeerskunde (VSV) is rolling out a comprehensive programme of road safety training and an awareness campaign that is supporting the achievement of the vision zero across the Flanders region in the north of Belgium.
Helsinki and Amsterdam are known for their innovative ideas and actions in sustainable urban mobility. They are inviting motorists to take part in a study that aims to offer the most socially responsible driving routes in each city.
Both cities are aware that cars make up a large majority of traffic, and they want to improve how cars are moving in the city. Therefore, Helsinki and Amsterdam invite their motorists to help them ‘code’ the street, making their routes the most socially and environmentally responsible.
25 countries took part in the annual flagship campaign of the European Road Policing Network carried out in the week of 16-22 September with the goal of achieving ZERO road fatalities. 16 countries reported ZERO fatalities with others reporting preliminary data considerably lower than the average numbers.