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With 615 votes in favour, the European Parliament approved an important resolution asking the European Commission to draw up a recommendation for the introduction of speed limits of 30 km/h in residential areas and in areas with a high density of cyclists and pedestrians.
It can be read clearly on the official website of the European Parliament, where a whole series of measures requested by deputies based on rather dramatic numbers on road emergencies also emerge.
In fact, there are 23 thousand victims in traffic.
The debate therefore continues and the examples of cities inclined to extend the 30 zones increase.
In Berlin, for example, a petition is underway for the introduction of a car-free zone to the world, while Paris and Brussels are becoming increasingly citizen- and bike-friendly.
An analysis of the data shows that Sweden is the safest city for active road users, therefore pedestrians and cyclists, where 18 deaths per million inhabitants are recorded, while Romania wins the sad prize for the highest rate of mortality with an 85 per million.
The Bel Paese, on the other hand, recorded a 42% drop in deaths from 2010 to 2020 and last year the figure was 40 deaths per million inhabitants.
FIAB, the Italian Environment and Bicycle Federation, has repeatedly reiterated its position in favor of the urgency of implementing a traffic revolution in favor of the use of bicycles.
Returning to the important resolution approved by the European Parliament we quote the words of the rapporteur Elena Kountoura: "For too long Europeans have had to live with an unacceptable number of deaths on our roads. It is realistic to aim to halve road deaths by 2030, if the EU and Member States commit to improving road safety, combined with strong political will and sufficient funding. We already know what kills on the roads, so we call on the Commission and governments to apply specific life-saving measures to support these efforts such as lower speed limits, in particular by creating a default limit of 30 km/h for cities, a quicker transition towards other forms of transport and a new European Road Transport Agency”.
In addition to the issue of reducing maximum speeds in urban centres, road safety requires various interventions to transform cities.
In fact, MEPs asked the Commission to consider the incorporation of a safe driving mode into drivers' electronic devices, in order to reduce distractions while driving as one of the major causes of road accidents is caused by use of smartphones.
The FIAB president, Alessandro Tursi, declared: “SWe have known for some time that the speed limit is a fundamental condition for creating safe sharing of the road with cyclists and pedestrians. The time is ripe: in ComuniCiclabili we give scores by evaluating the extension and quality of the 30 zones. We need to move towards legislation that makes the 30 zones the rule and no longer the exception in the city”.