European cooperation in road safety research

The need for European cooperation in safety research is discussed by comparing road-safety levels of the countries of the European Union (EU) with each other; and the EU with that of the USA, Australia, and Japan. Thetotal socio-economic costs of the lack of road safety in the EU amounts to 162 billion ECU annually, more than the EU-budget itself. European cooperation in innovative safety research and Europe-wide shared views on validated road safety measures can contribute to the effectiveness of national and European road safety policies. FERSI (now representing fourteen European national institutes) was established in 1991 with the aim of promoting European cooperation in road safety research. Also to sustain the EU road safety R&D and policy matters, and to foster a European exchange of safety knowledge and researchers. An overview of the cooperative activities of FERSI with respect to the 4th Research Framework Programme of the EU and other by the EU-commissioned research is given. A resume of the mission of FERSI in the preparation of the 5th Research Framework Programme, in which a widening of cooperation with the research centres in the CEE-countries is foreseen, is also presented. Moreover, the possible contribution of cooperative research to an enhanced road safety policy of the EU is highlighted. Lastly, apart from legal EU-measures, it is argued that a European knowledge exchange, by establishing research based ‘best practices' and by EU-conferences for road transport and safety professionals (comparable to the TRB-conference in the USA), will harmonise road infrastructure and transport, and enhance road safety throughout Europe