Harsher sanctions, more controls in bid to improve Luxembourg road safety, under plan unveiled by Transport Minister Yuriko Backes

Luxembourg’s new road safety action plan aims to cut the number of road deaths in the country to zero, through more education, more awareness, stricter laws and heavier sanctions.

More vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, are most likely to be involved in a severe or deadly accident, according to an analysis by the transport ministry, while the majority of accidents on Luxembourg roads are linked to excessive speed, alcohol, drugs and distracted drivers.

Almost 50 people were seriously injured and 26 people died in road accidents in Luxembourg in 2023, the most recent data available.

Preventing road accidents “means not only improving infrastructure and adapting road signs, but also taking practical steps to raise awareness among road users, step up enforcement and adjust legislation to take account of technological and behavioural changes,” Transport Minister Yuriko Backes said during a press conference on Thursday.

The new national action plan, Sécurité routière 2024-2028, sets out to increase risk awareness among drivers and best practices through training for students and driving instructors, but also through seasonal awareness campaigns among other initiatives.  

Laws and sanctions to be reviewed

The national action plan also aims to adapt laws and security norms pertaining to road safety. These “have to be adapted to new technologies, to road insecurities and social development,” the ministry explained.

“Compared with neighbouring countries, fines are comparable for minor offences (parking, technical faults, speeding etc.), but for more serious offences that seriously endanger other road users, the fines are much lower in some cases,” the ministry noted.

Working groups will develop a plan for dealing with more severe sanctions such as driving under the influence and repeat offenders, as well as set up a more efficient system for the payment of fines.

The plan will also review and adapt fines as “the catalogue of penalties as it exists today has hardly been adapted for almost 30 years now,” though specific amounts have not yet been named.

Updating legal texts to include technological developments – like self-driving cars and e-bikes – and allow for faster insurance paper checks are also planned.

Better infrastructures, more speed radars

To bring down the number of accidents and deaths on the road, as pledged in the coalition agreement, the ministry also intends to implement more cameras, including devices that can detect when drivers use their smartphone while driving.

“Distraction is an increasing cause of accidents. Using a mobile phone at the wheel increases the risk of an accident by a factor of four,” the ministry plan notes.

In addition, the police is set to carry out more checks on the roads, including examining motorcyclist equipment.

Meanwhile, the government intends to plant bushes rather than trees along roads to increase safety and to study existing infrastructures to address any issues that could make driving more dangerous.

Cycling lanes will be painted red to distinguish them from normal roads, and the speed limits on certain roads will be adapted further to align with weather conditions and rush hour traffic levels.

Bringing down the speed limit in urban areas to 30km across the country – a request often formulated by associations representing road users – is not in the plan, with Backes stating that this was a measure councils should implement themselves in line with local needs.