This past Sunday, November 15th, marked the annual World Day of Remembrance for Traffic Victims. Held on the third Sunday of every November the day offers a chance to remember those killed or seriously injured on our roads and the families of victims. It also allows us to acknowledge the crucial work of our hard-working emergency services.As more of us had to stay at home because of Covid, road deaths have gone down in 2020. Yet, we must not forget that across the EU in 2019 almost 23,000 people lost their lives on roads. Worldwide the situation is dire - the 2018 Global Status Report estimated there are about 1.35 million road deaths annually with pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists disproportionately affected. Ireland has made some progress. There has been a 33% reduction in fatalities on Irish roads since 2010. While this is welcome, we need a more systematic approach to improve road safety and reducing fatalities.So, how can we best respond and ensure that road usage becomes safer across the board?Concerted and sustained action is the short answer. Last February, I attended the Third Global High-Level Conference on Road Safety, where countries, including Ireland, came together to adopt The Stockholm Declaration. The Declaration commits countries to the next stage of road safety guidelines that fall in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are the global blueprint for ensuring a more sustainable future for people and the planet. The recommendations of the Stockholm Declaration call for smart use of urban and transport planning to provide more environmentally friendly and safer travel modes that encourage higher levels of walking, cycling and public transport use. There are also measures for making infrastructure safer for vulnerable road users such as lowering city centre speed limits. Such changes are welcome news for tackling air pollution. It is good to see the progress made on encouraging active mobility in Ireland as this can help improve air pollution and peoples’ health, reduce emissions and can improve road safety. Encouraging people to travel on foot or bike can also save lives. It tackles the obesity crisis, improves air quality and fosters a stronger sense of community. If our streets and roads are safe for children they are safe for us all.The implementation of safer road policies, of course, means engaging all levels of local and national government as well as citizens. It also means we must take EU wide action too. An EU approach to road safety helps achieve a harmonised response that can have a greater impact on making our roads safer. So, what can we expect from the EU? The European Commission is expected to propose changes to key legislation. This could make a genuine difference to road safety. For instance, a revision of the EU Driving Licence Directive could address issues like driver training and new technological developments. A revision of the Cross-Border Enforcement Directive (which allows Member State authorities to exchange information about traffic offences) could be made more effective and address a broader range of offences and a revision of the EU roadworthiness framework could address fraud in the sale of second-hand vehicles cross-border.We also have to discuss how Covid has affected road safety and mobility. Covid has meant that public authorities across Europe have reclaimed public space for the public to use. This has resulted in a decrease in air pollution; I have already discussed the impact on lowering fatalities on our roads. It has not only ensured the provision of more space for cyclists and pedestrians, but it has also resulted in the redesigning of public spaces across Europe.This will all be discussed in a webinar I am hosting for MEPs on Monday, November 16th, to mark the World Day of Remembrance for Traffic Victims. The webinar will feature participants from the World Health Organisation, the European Commission, the European Transport Safety Council and The European Federation of Road Traffic Victims. It will discuss how an EU-wide response can improve road safety across the EU - including in Ireland. Every road safety death and serious injury is avoidable. We need the political courage to prioritise actions that make this our goal.Image copyright FEVR 2020