The EU’s transport chief says the bloc is failing in its goal to halve the number of road deaths by 2020, from their 2010 levels<br /><br /> Nearly 26,000 people died on the roads last year, a new report shows.<br /><br /> Just over 31,000 were killed in traffic accidents in 2010.<br /><br /> The lowest fatality rates are in Malta, Britain, Sweden and the Netherlands.<br /><br /> The highest are in Bulgaria, Romania, Latvia and Lithuania.<br /><br /> “For me and for all of us, this is a wake up call. We intend to set up for the first time ever a target for the reduction of serious road injuries and define a strategy to meet this target,” said EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc.<br /><br /> An annual reduction of eight percent per year would be needed to hit the 2020 goal.<br /><br /> The EU says it plans to backs up local national efforts to improve road safety.<br /><br /> That could include extra legislation and recommendations on issues such as technical vehicle inspections.
