EASST, Global NCAP and EBRD mark 30 years of European vehicle safety legislation
On 16 September, EASST and Global NCAP marked European Mobility Week with a joint hybrid event at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) headquarters in London.
The event highlighted the importance of vehicle safety in the context of sustainable transport policies, connecting the agenda of European Mobility Week with the 30th anniversary of front and side crash test legislation for motor vehicles in Europe, an achievement which has saved thousands of lives.
The legislation formed part of the EU’s first action plan on road safety which was developed in 1995 in response to the deaths of 64,000 people on EU roads that year. In 2025, the figure was reduced by approximately 70% to 19,400. The introduction of robust vehicle safety standards and EuroNCAP’s consumer-focused testing programmes were crucial to the production of safer cars built to protect passengers and other road users.
With the average vehicle age increasing across many EBRD countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, issues of sustainability and safety are becoming increasingly urgent. For example, in 2022, the average age of a passenger vehicle in Ukraine was 22.7 years, almost twice the EU average of 11.8 (EaP RSO). At the same time, electric vehicle (EV) fleets are also rising, requiring new legislation and infrastructure to support them.
Our event brought these two areas together, marking both progress to date and highlighting lessons learned towards ensuring safe and sustainable vehicles in EBRD countries and improving road safety for all road users.
The event included two panel discussions for road safety specialists from the FIA Foundation, CITA and the Automobile Club of Moldova as well as representatives of the EBRD, EASST and Global NCAP, followed by Q & A discussions.
Closing remarks were delivered by the former EU Transport Commissioner and Vice President of the European Commission the Rt Honourable Lord Kinnock PC, who reminded us of the advances in road safety within the EU over the last three decades as a result of legislative change, development bank investment in road safety standards, and the work of civil society organisations.
This special contribution was acknowledged through the presentation of the Margie Peden Prize for Safe System Implementation to Derran Williams, Senior Health and Safety Advisor at the EBRD, and to the Automobile Club of Moldova for their joint initiative to improve fleet safety management, which contributed to a 38% reduction in public transport vehicle fatalities in Moldova and lasting policy change.