EU Institutions are urged to give full priority to road safety when revising the EU driving and rest time rules

Joint statement by the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF), the European Cyclists’ Federation (ECF), the European Federation of Road Traffic Victims (FEVR) and the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) Our joint appeal is prompted by the fact that the revision of Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 - the EU legal act establishing maximum driving time limits and minimum rest periods for freight and passenger transport - has taken a worrying turn.

Joint Statement

The four organisations signatory of the present joint statement remind the EU and national policy makers of the commitment made in Malta, in 2017, by 28 Member States, to actively engage in halving road deaths by 2020, and reducing serious injuries on European roads by 50% till 2030. We must look at every transport issue through the lens of road safety before we make decisions on it, and this is no exception. Policy choices that have safety of road users and drivers at their core are a key contributor to reaching this goal!

"We should not wait until we have to launch a general alert " numerous victims" when a bus full of passengers is crashing due to a driver falling asleep at the wheel. Really should put the top on the pot before such a catastrophe is likely to happen." (President J.Mersch)