Designing the European road safety observatory

In 2001 there were over 40,00 people who were killed on the roads of the 15 member states of the European Union (EU), additionally around 3.3 million people were injured1. The costs to society exceeded €180 billion which is around twice the annual budget of the European Commission and 2% of EU GDP. In May 2004 a further 10 countries will join the EU increasing the total population to over 450 million people and the estimated numbers of road crash fatalities by 25% to over 50,000 each year. In 2001 the European Commission adopted a target of reducing fatalities by 50%2 within a decade and identified several areas where it could make a direct contribution within the constraints of subsidiarity. The target was reaffirmed in 20033 in the Road Safety Action Programme which provided further detail about actions it planned to introduce.