Fine Gael MEP for Ireland North West Jim Higgins today questioned the European Commissioner designate for transport Mr Siim Kallis. Mr Higgins focused on the pertinent Irish issue of road safety.
He voiced his concern over the failure of the Road Safety Action Plan 2003 - 2010 to reach its target of a 50 per cent reduction in road fatalities by 2010. “The most recent report on the program’s effectiveness highlighted that 2008 saw 39,000 road deaths across the EU - this is a far cry from the programs 25,000 target,” outlined Mr Higgins.
Mr Higgins pushed Commissioner Kallas to outline what measures he intended to implement in order ensure that the forthcoming European Road Safety Programme 2011 - 2020 surpasses the failed aspirations of the former. He particularly emphasised the increasingly serious issue of drug driving. Mr Higgins was deeply concerned by the lack of regulation or reliable detection facilities in this area.
Speaking after the hearing Mr Higgins welcomed the upcoming Druid report - the single largest EU effort to assess the effect of drugs (both legal and illegal ) on driver performance. “This is an area which is due reform and I eagerly await the Commissioner’s response to the numerous recommendations the report will surely make,” he said.
Mr Higgins expressed confidence in Kallas' abilities: “Throughout the course of the hearing he showed himself highly capable and exhibited many of the hallmarks of his long and distinguished political career in his native Estonia and his experience as a former Commissioner during the previous mandate.”
