[Index]
UN road tunnel experts to conclude safety work
Geneva, 10 July 2001
The UNECE Ad hoc Group of Experts on Safety in Tunnels is
holding its fourth and final meeting in Geneva from 9 to 11 July 2001, which
will culminate in the adoption of a report covering measures for road users,
measures for tunnel operators, infrastructure measures and measures for
vehicles.
The Group, made up of experts from Austria, Belgium,
France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, the Russian
Federation, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the United
Kingdom and from a number of non-governmental organizations, was created in
2000 following the tragic accidents in the Mont Blanc and Tauern road tunnels
in 1999.
Once adopted by the UNECE Inland Transport Committee, the
recommendations prepared by the Group will be considered by specialized
subsidiary bodies to investigate to what extent they can be incorporated into
the international Conventions and Agreements which are administered by
the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. They will also be
incorporated into the UNECE website (www.unece.org/trans). In particular, it
is expected that the widely implemented Vienna Conventions on Road Traffic and
on Road Signs and Signals, which provide the framework for international road
safety in the ECE region, will be supplemented with additional provisions
regarding safety in tunnels.
Within the framework of the project led by the Expert
Group, a UN inventory questionnaire was sent to the ECE member States to
obtain a better knowledge of existing tunnels in the region. Thirty-two
countries answered the questionnaire. The results showed that 20 ECE
member States have tunnels over 1 kilometre in length. Norway has 199, Italy
175, Switzerland 67, Austria 55, France 46 and Germany 36. The longest road
tunnel in the ECE region is in Norway, at 24.5 kilometres.
Once the work on road tunnels is completed, it is expected
that the Inland Transport Committee will request that safety in rail tunnels
be examined.
For further information, please contact:
José Capel Ferrer, Director or
Marie-Noëlle Poirier, Technology Section
Transport Division
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
Palais des Nations
CH – 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Tel.: (41 22) 917 24 00 / 917 32 59
Fax: (41 22) 917 00 39
E-mail: [email protected]
[email protected]
Website: http://www.unece.org/trans/
Ref: ECE/TRANS/01/03