Road safety: New smartphone app provides information on EU road traffic rules
26 Jun 2014 02:46 PM
What is the speed limit on Spanish motorways? Do
I need to wear a helmet when I cycle in Sweden? What safety equipment must I
always have in the car when driving in Slovakia? From now on, holiday makers do
not need to spend a lot of time searching for this information. They can have
it at hand wherever they are with the European Commission's new smartphone
app "Going Abroad".
The
app is available for iPhone and iPad, Google Android and Microsoft Windows
phones in 22 languages. Apart from all important road safety information for
all EU countries, the app also contains a road safety quiz and a memory game to
entertain passengers during long car journeys. Of course the app should never
be checked while driving – drivers should let the passengers do the job
or take breaks from driving to stay both rested and
well-informed.
European Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas, in
charge of transport, said: "The summer holiday period is the busiest time
on Europe's roads. It is so easy to take your car abroad, but many people
don't realise that rules and road signs differ across the EU. The
'Going Abroad' app provides convenient and user-friendly information to
help minimise this risk."
The
app covers information about all topics that carry the biggest risk for
accidents, including speed and alcohol limits, traffic lights, and the use of
mobile phones. It also informs users about obligations to wear seat belts in
cars and safety helmets on bikes and motorbikes.
Its
release just before the start of the summer holidays is timely because July and
August are the deadliest road traffic months with on average some 50% more road
deaths than in the "safest" month, February.
Road safety work in the EU has made great progress over
recent years. Between 2001 and 2010, the number of fatalities on EU roads was
reduced by a total of 43%. Between 2010 and 2013, it was reduced by a further
17%.
The
strategic target is to halve road deaths between 2010 and 2020 and also to
start focusing EU efforts on reducing serious road traffic injuries. The new
road safety information app is one contribution amongmany other road safety initiatives at EU level.
More information
Download the "Going Abroad" app
Teaser video: http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/video/player.cfm?ref=I090368
For
latest figures on road fatalities per Member State see IP 14/341
The Commission's road safety website
Follow @SiimKallasEU