The EC DRIVE programme-halfway through

Road traffic accidents in Europe result in well over 50000 deaths each year. Many European states are experiencing acute road traffic congestion in and around their major urban centres, estimated to be costing over Pounds 50 billion each year. At the same time, there is increasing public sensitivity to the environmental costs of movement by road. Increasing prosperity and the steady removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers are stimulating the demand for transport of all kinds, leading to a deepening crisis of mobility by road. It is within this context that the DRIVE programme is endeavouring to bring about a co-ordinated approach to the development and application of road transport informatics (RTI), namely information technology and telecommunications applied to road transport.<>