concrete safety barriers: a safe and sustainable choice - EUPAVE

INTRODUCTION
Involvement in a road traffic crash is the leading cause of death and hospital admission for
citizens of the European Union under the age of 45 years. With 39 000 road traffic deaths in
2008 and socio-economic costs of € 180 billion, road safety continues to be a priority area
for action in the EU.
Although the actions taken so far have been effective in several Member States, the numbers
of road fatalities remain unacceptably high. That is why the European Commission (EC)
has adopted challenging plans to reduce the number of road deaths on Europe’s roads by
half in the next ten years.
One of the seven strategic objectives, amongst others such as intelligent vehicles and better
enforcement, is safer road infrastructure. The use of passive safety systems and, more
specifically, road restraint systems undoubtedly contributes to higher safety. There will also
be more focus on vulnerable road users, motorcyclists in particular. [Ref. 8]
Photo: Britpave
3 CONCRETE SAFETY BARRIERS: A SAFE AND SUSTAINABLE CHOICE