European Commission publishes key indicators of road safety in Europe

The European Commission has published the results of the Baseline project on  8 key performance indicators that influence road safety in Europe . This study aimed to give a clearer understanding of road safety performance in the participating Member States, to assist Member States in developing harmonised methodologies for collecting road safety indicator data, and to build capacity in the authorities that had not previously collected and calculated such data.

In order to gain a much clearer understanding of the different issues that influence overall road safety performance, the Commission has elaborated, in cooperation with Member State experts, a first set of eight key road safety performance indicators (KPIs). The KPIs are an integral part of the EU road safety policy framework 2021-2030.

The key performance indicators addressed in this project were on speeding; drink-driving; distraction; use of seatbelts and child restraint systems; use of helmets; vehicle safety; infrastructure safety and quality of post-crash care. While the study revealed a high level of compliance with road traffic rules, there is clearly still significant room for improvement.

This project is the biggest effort ever undertaken in Europe (and beyond) in the field of data collection and analysis for road safety performance indicators. It will help underpin road safety strategies and their monitoring at national and European level. Work to monitor progress over time will continue with the Trendline project, which will review and refine the methodology for data collection, will expand to some new experimental indicators, and will place greater emphasis on using key performance indicators for road safety policy.