WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3304/97 by Raymonde DURY to the Commission. Reducing the number of road accidents
25. 5. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities C 158/83 (98/C 158/106) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3304/97 by Raymonde Dury (PSE) to the Commission (20 October 1997) Subject: Reducing the number of road accidents Can the Commission estimate the economic cost of deaths in Belgium resulting from traffic accidents and can it say how it recommends reducing the number of injuries and deaths caused by road accidents throughout Europe? (98/C 158/107) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3305/97 by Raymonde Dury (PSE) to the Commission (20 October 1997) Subject: Road accidents in Belgium Can the Commission say, according to the data in its possession, how many people have been killed or injured in traffic accidents in Belgium in recent years and how these figures translate into numbers of deaths per million vehicles (a) in Belgium and (b) in comparison with the general situation throughout the European Union? Joint answer to Written Questions E-3304/97 and E-3305/97 given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission (15 December 1997) In 1994, 1 543 people were killed in traffic accidents in Belgium and 73 338 were injured. Based on the number killed by million inhabitants over the period 1991-1994, the position of Belgium is worse than the European average, and that of seven other Member States. It is however difficult to make precise comparisons between Member States as there are a number of factors, such as the quality of infrastructure, which are not comparable. The Commission has calculated that the direct cost of road accidents (including the cost of police and emergency services, vehicle repairs, and lost economic output), is 45 000 MECU per year for the Community as a whole. When divided by the total of 45 000 road fatalities in the Community per year, this gives a simple average of 1 MECU per death. The Commission has adopted a communication Promoting road safety in the EU › The programme for 1997-2001í (1) which sets out in detail the Commissionís plans to build on the successes of the first action programme which ran from 1993-1996. The Commissionís actions will focus on three areas: information gathering and dissemination in order to identify and to monitor the situation; initiating and supporting measures to avoid accidents, with an emphasis on the human factor and its interface with environment; and initiating and supporting measures to reduce the consequences of accidents when they occur. If the measures proposed in the action programme are implemented, the Commission believes that a reduction of 18 000 fatalities per year could be achieved by the year 2010. (1) COM(97) 131 final. (98/C 158/108) WRITTEN QUESTION E-3306/97 by Gianni Tamino (V) to the Commission (20 October 1997) Subject: Failure by Italy to comply with the Directive on the protection of animals used for experimental and other scientific purposes With reference to the Reply of 8 July 1997 to my Written Question E-1874/97 (1) it should be noted that the information supplied by the Italian authorities concerning arrangements for regular checks of registers by the authorities relates to general provisions which are not supported by legislative acts