Didesnis dėmesys kelių infrastruktūros saugumo valdymui

Abstract

Road safety on the European Union’s roads has improved significantly over the last two decades. The accident analysis shows that road accident fatalities decreased by 58.47% within 2001–2019. Despite the observed positive result, from 2013 the significant reduction in road accidents in the European Union has stabilized, showing that recent measures are insufficient. In response to the stabilization of the decline in accident rates, the European institutions have taken various initiatives, including both long-term and intermediate actions to improve road safety. One of such initiatives is Directive (EU) 2019/1936 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 amending Directive 2008/96/EC on safety management of road infrastructure. The updated directive extends the scope of the directive, focuses more on vulnerable road users and introduces a new safety management procedure of road infrastructure – Network-wide road safety assessment. This procedure will not only have to assess accident data but also the risks associated with road infrastructure, i.e. geometrical and operational characteristics of the road and traffic, intersections, facilities for vulnerable road users, obstacles on the road, the presence of restraint systems, etc. The updated Directive obliges Member States to pay the particular attention on the legibility and visibility of road signs and markings in order to create better and clearer driving conditions for drivers and to facilitate the installation of automated steering assistance systems. Member States will have to implement the provisions of Directive (EU) 2019/1936 by national legislation, which have to enter into force no later than 17 December 2021.