The International Federation of Pedestrians, together with the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) and a coalition of leading civil-society and mobility organisations (Eurocities, European Cyclists Federation, Clean Cities Campaign, Transport & Environment and POLIS), has co-signed a joint letter urging the European Commission to establish a dedicated EU Road Safety Agency. This proposal seeks to address a long-standing gap in the governance of transport safety within the European Union.
While aviation, rail and maritime transport all benefit from specialised safety agencies, road transport remains the only major mode without an equivalent structure, despite being the sector where the vast majority of serious injuries and deaths occur. This absence has contributed to fragmented oversight, inconsistent national practices, and persistent inequalities in the protection of pedestrians and other vulnerable road users.
The signatory organisations argue that a dedicated agency would provide the institutional capacity necessary to coordinate policies, strengthen the monitoring of safety performance, and support Member States in achieving the EU’s “Vision Zero” commitment to eliminate road deaths and serious injuries by 2050. Such a body would also play a critical role as automated systems, digital technologies and complex cross-border mobility services become increasingly widespread.
For IFP, the establishment of an EU Road Safety Agency is not merely a technical improvement: it represents a structural shift towards fair, equitable and people-centred mobility governance. Pedestrians continue to face disproportionate risks on Europe’s roads, and stronger institutional safeguards are needed to ensure that walking is protected, prioritised and recognised as a fundamental mode of everyday mobility.
This initiative forms part of IFP’s broader advocacy for safer streets, mobility justice and public spaces that uphold the rights of all people, regardless of age, gender, ability or socio-economic background.
Read the full joint letter here: