Safer European Road TunnelsThe European Parliament will vote on 20th April a second reading recommendation on proposals to improve the safety of tunnels on the trans-European road network. The Council has accepted most of the Parliament's key first-reading amendments, in particular on the needs of disabled people.Clear minimum safety standards for infrastructure, tunnel operation and traffic rules lie at the heart of this new directive. All heavy goods vehicles, buses and coaches entering tunnels will have to be equipped with fire extinguishers. Better signs and other information are another important feature which should enable people to escape accidents.In addition to including specific references to the needs of the disabled, the Parliament and Council have agreed on a range of technical issues such as gradients and escape routes. They also agreed to reject the Commission's over-rigid tunnel classification system.The new legislation, drafted against a background of growing public awareness about safety risks in tunnels, lays down safety rules for all existing and future tunnels of over 500 metres in length. More than 500 tunnels will be affected. In most countries, the new safety standards must be met within ten years, while in the first six years 50% of the tunnels will need to comply.The 512 tunnels to be affected by the new rules are mostly in Austria and Italy. By the interim date of 2010, 64 tunnels in Austria must comply with the rules, along with 246 in Italy, 55 in Germany, 35 in France, 45 in Greece, 25 in Spain, 12 in the UK, 11 in the Netherlands, 5 in Finland, 3 in Denmark, 3 in Luxembourg, 3 in Sweden, 2 in Belgium, 2 in Portugal and 1 in Ireland. Visit www.europarl.eu.int 17/04.