Source: European Parliament
The Commission shares the concern for the safety of riders of powered two-wheelers (PTW). This is a very vulnerable road user group, and the Commission, in cooperation with Member States, is promoting a range of initiatives to support PTW rider safety.
In response to the questions:
1. The Commission has no current plans for an EU proposal for the adoption of specific advanced protective equipment for PTWs, such as airbags.
2. There are no EU-level funding streams to give specific financial support to the purchase of this equipment.
3. The Commission promotes the safety of vulnerable road users through all available mechanisms, including the exchange of best practices through the High-Level Group on Road Safety[1] and the biannual EU Road Safety Conferences; a specific focus on vulnerable road users, and PTW safety in particular, for Member States participating in the EU Road Safety Exchange[2]; and highlighting successful initiatives to support PTW safety through the EU Road Safety Charter[3] and in the annual Excellence in Road Safety Awards[4].
One recent winner of an Excellence in Road Safety Award, an initiative on the use of road markings to promote safe PTW driving in bends, has resulted in a 60% reduction in road trauma, and has been implemented in other Member States.
The Commission would also emphasise that it recently adopted a proposal[5] to amend Directive 2014/45/EU[6] on periodic roadworthiness tests , where it proposed more stringent requirements by introducing mandatory inspections for motorcycles above 125 cm3.
The Commission regularly collects the most recent research on topics related to the protection of vulnerable road users, PTW safety in particular, and makes it available to the public through the EU Road Safety Observatory[7].
- [1] https://road-safety.transport.ec.europa.eu/what-we-do/high-level-group-road-safety_en.
- [2] https://etsc.eu/projects/eu-road-safety-exchange/.
- [3] https://road-safety-charter.ec.europa.eu/.
- [4] https://road-safety-charter.ec.europa.eu/content/excellence-road-safety-awards?page=0.
- [5] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM%3A2025%3A180%3AFIN.
- [6] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2014/45/oj/eng.
- [7] https://road-safety.transport.ec.europa.eu/european-road-safety-observatory/data-and-analysis/thematic-reports_en.