Parliamentary level support

In European Union countries both the European Parliament and national Parliaments play a key role in road safety.

Well-informed all-party Parliamentary committees and groups on road safety have been associated with major developments in road safety policy in Australia and Europe [56, 47]

• Parliamentary Committees are appointed by the Parliament and have a formal remit within the Parliamentary process. These can be stand-alone road safety committees, or transport committees which give high priority to road safety. They usually comprise around 8-10 Parliamentarians from all parties. E.g. the Joint Standing Committee on Road Safety in Victoria, Australia and the Swedish Parliament’s Transport Committee.
• Parliamentary Groups are usually registered with Parliament, have to conform to certain rules, but they are not formally part of Parliament. They comprise Parliamentarians from all parties, road safety experts and representatives from a range of organizations. E.g. the British Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS)

These bodies have several functions:

• Champion road safety within Parliament, the media and the community;
• Promote effective action to Government;
• Consider a broad spectrum of issues and views and seek expert and community opinion;
• Parliamentary Committees can conduct hearings and publish recommendations to which Governments must respond within a specific timescale;
• Legislate for road safety using Private Members’ procedures and Parliamentary time;
• Approve casualty reduction targets.