Philippe Dewez European Road Round Table

Date: 2 May 2006

It is widely accepted that driver behaviour is the most dominant factor in the cause of road accidents, but I believe you all will agree that even the best driver in the best vehicle will need good grip and visibility to avoid accidents.

Vehicle manufacturers and the road industry can do much to help reduce risks, by:
- designing ever stronger and safer vehicles with tyres that provide better grip, improved breaking mechanisms and features that prevent driver and passenger injury
- skilful road infrastructure design, whether that be avoidance of extreme bends, junction design that allows maximum visibility, better lighting, intelligent road markings, selection of appropriate surfacing, or use of flexible barriers that minimise injury
- and to put in a word for Eurobitume - our members have contributed significantly through the development of better binders like multigrade and PmB which enable our customers to produce more durable pavements that:
- Combat rutting or permanent deformation of the surface, and provide optimum grip
- Let water drain through (so called Porous Asphalt) so it does not accumulate on the surface, thus improving visibility and reducing the risk of aquaplaning

As we’ve heard today, there are many ways in which the industry and its suppliers can – and do - work together for the benefit of road users across Europe.

With the expansion of the European Union, and the need for increased road capacity, and certainly an improved pan-European network – the importance of sharing experiences and technical expertise becomes paramount.

Against this background, we welcome the Road Safety Directive, providing a common basis for a systematic approach to road safety work in all EU member states.

In the new accession states developing their road infrastructure from a sparse base, there is an opportunity for these countries to take a ‘generation’ leap; engineering their networks on the foundations of the decades of safety research, that we have heard about today.

As we heard earlier, accident rates will only improve quantifiably across the Union by harmonising the approach to road safety management and setting clear guidelines to reflect best practice in design, build, operation and maintenance. If we aspire to harmonise driver discipline to the highest safety standards across the Union, logically we must also harmonise the driving experience.

Although the role of the members that Eurobitume represents – the bitumen or binder producers – may seem somewhat removed from the safety issue, as an organisation it is an area on which we have always placed great importance. And it is one to which we have – perhaps rather quietly – contributed quite significantly.

Today the industry can provide coloured or textured asphalts for clearer demarcation of special lanes, for cyclists or buses, to alert drivers to dangerous hidden junctions, or areas requiring special safety precautions, for example, outside of schools. And for normal driving situations, let us remember that the safest roads are those that are smooth and even, therefore the best contribution to road safety is proper, planned road maintenance.

All of these benefits are, of course, derived from a cross-industry co-operation with EAPA and its members and the local road administrations----Not forgetting the ERF, which as we have seen does an excellent job, researching and co-ordinating road data across the Union, raising issues on behalf of the road sector and making representations to government.

We welcome this tripartite initiative on this crucial issue and hope that there will be other occasions when, between us, we are able to pool resources and help to bring together stimulating, constructive expert discussion we’ve had this afternoon. Today’s practices have resulted from sharing experiences and technology developed nationally. We thoroughly support such development: as pragmatic engineers we see no problem in using solutions that have worked in other countries.

We thank the EU Commission for their initiative on road safety by developing and implementing the Road Safety Directive and would like to affirm the industry’s wholehearted support in collaborating to make the road network safer for our fellow Europeans.

Thank you very much for joining us, I hope you found it useful and that you will join us now for a cocktail and an opportunity for a further exchange of views.

-ends-