The European Transport Safety Council’s 2025 PIN report confirms this across member states. Some countries are steadily improving. Others are stagnating. Serious injuries remain persistently high.
This pace is not sufficient to meet the EU target of halving road deaths by 2030, says Bernd Frühwald, CEO of Saferoad Group.
The policy is in place. The Safe System framework is widely endorsed. The gap lies in implementation.
Between now and 2030, infrastructure investments will determine whether Europe regains momentum or misses its target.
Secondary roads are the challenge
More than half of EU road fatalities occur on rural roads. Single carriageways dominate the fatal crash landscape. Run-off and head-on collisions remain leading types of crashes outside urban areas.
These are the types of crash that are most affected by roadside design and restraint systems.
Motorways already deliver comparatively high safety performance. The greatest untapped potential lies on secondary networks, where forgiving roadsides, median separation and compliant barriers can significantly reduce fatal outcomes.
If Europe is to increase progress before 2030, investments in secondary roads will have the largest effect.
A lot of road restraint systems across Europe is not according to latest regulations and development / Photo: Anita Stokke
The compliance gap is widening
A significant share of roadside restraint systems across Europe is more than 15 to 25 years old. Many were installed under earlier standards or before systematic network risk assessment was required.
At the same time, enforcement of EN 1317 performance requirements and structured inspection regimes is intensifying. Asset management expectations are rising. Documentation and traceability are becoming standard procurement criteria.
This creates a growing compliance gap.
Upgrading legacy restraint systems is no longer discretionary modernisation. It is regulatory alignment and responsible risk management.
Network-wide safety no longer optional
The revised Road Infrastructure Safety Management Directive is now fully operational across member states. Since 2024 and 2025, road authorities are required to conduct network-wide safety assessments, apply risk-based rankings and systematically inspect roads beyond the core TEN-T corridors.
This represents a structural shift. Safety management is no longer confined to major motorways. It extends to secondary and regional networks where risk levels are higher and protection standards are more variable.
Authorities must identify high-risk sections proactively and prioritise mitigation before severe crashes occur.
This regulatory shift has direct implications. Ageing barriers, substandard roadside protection and inconsistent inspection regimes are becoming compliance issues, not just engineering concerns.
Infrastructure protects the entire fleet
Vehicle safety regulation has advanced significantly under the General Safety Regulation, fully applicable to new vehicle types since 2024. Advanced driver assistance systems are expanding across the market.
However, fleet renewal takes time. The average passenger car in the EU remains over 12 years old, and heavy goods vehicle turnover is slower still.
For at least the next decade, Europe will operate a mixed fleet. Highly automated vehicles will share roads with older models lacking advanced safety technologies.
Infrastructure is the only safety layer that protects all users[AS4.1]. It protects professional drivers, tourists, vulnerable road users and commercial fleets alike.
Safe System principles recognise that human error will persist. Infrastructure must therefore mitigate the consequences of that error.
Safety and sustainability now move together
Public procurement across Europe is integrating environmental and safety objectives in line with EU Green Deal and sustainable mobility strategies. Environmental Product Declarations, lifecycle carbon assessment and durability metrics are becoming common evaluation criteria.
Safety infrastructure must now demonstrate certified crash performance alongside transparent environmental footprint and long service life.
This alignment of safety and sustainability is not temporary. It reflects broader EU mobility and climate strategies.
Industrial players capable of combining high-performance safety systems with documented sustainability credentials and reliable delivery capacity will be structurally better positioned in public tenders.
Megarail sk installed in Eulenberg Magdeburg, Germany / Photo: Marlen Mertens
Four more years to 2030
Regulation gives us the roadmap - infrastructure delivers the result. If Europe is to halve road deaths by 2030 we must urgently upgrade rural corridors with compliant, sustainable roadside protection at scale. Saferoad is ready to partner with authorities to make that delivery happen, says Saferoad Group CEO, Bernd Frühwald.
Europe does not lack strategy. It does not lack regulation. It does not lack technical standards.
What it needs is accelerated execution across secondary networks where fatal risk remains highest.
If reductions continue at 2 % annually, the 2030 target will not be reached.
If member states systematically upgrade high-risk rural corridors, enforce compliant restraint systems and integrate digital asset management, meaningful acceleration remains achievable.
The coming years will test whether Europe can translate regulatory ambition into measurable network-wide impact.
We look forward to contributing to this discussion at Intertraffic Amsterdam 2026, and to engaging with road authorities, policymakers, partners, customers and industry peers on how infrastructure delivery can accelerate progress toward 2030.
