New European Coordinator For Road Safety

Deputy Director-General Mr. Matthew Baldwin appointed as new European Coordinator for Road Safety

CITA warmly congratulates Mr Matthew Baldwin, Deputy Director-General of DG MOVE, on his appointment as the new European Coordinator for Road Safety in the European Commission.

We especially welcome this step since it offers the possibility to streamline effectively various aspects of road safety and, therefore, it is hoped that it will help to achieve what should be the ultimate political objective: Vision Zero.

In particular, we look very much forward to making progress in vehicle continuous compliance by ensuring the coordination of requirements both for new and in-use vehicles.

More than 25,000 road fatalities occur within the European Union annually. There are multiple risk factors, including human factors, infrastructure and vehicle safety. In this context, the European Commission introduced a new road safety strategy under its third Mobility Package in May 2018. CITA warmly welcomes these measures.

CITA is committed to work hard on all possible measures to achieve Vision Zero. Since several factors have an impact on road safety, this issue can only be tackled with a holistic approach. Particularly, the assessment of automated driving functions during the whole life cycle of a vehicle (continuous compliance) requires an integration of all vehicle inspection provisions, from the type approval tests and conformity and market surveillance tests to the periodic technical inspection.

We are confident that Mr Baldwin will, through his new role as European Coordinator for Road Safety, ensure a consistent approach throughout the different Directorate Generals in charge of issues related to road safety. This obviously includes units working on the regulatory framework for vehicle safety within other Directorate Generals than DG MOVE.

“CITA is and will continue to be a partner of the Commission in order to improve safety on our roads”