L'école est fini et tout le monde se met en route pour les vacances d'été. Mais il faut prendre garde à la sécurité routière.

Nous partons tous en vacances d'été

Welcome to the News.   The summer holidays are here.

Like Bernard and Francine,   many Europeans will take to the road.

To travel safely, holiday makers have to   follow European driving rules.

Hello everyone. Heavy rains are   hitting some of the country's regions.

Reduce speed, switch on headlights   and respect safety distances.

An accident in Brussels   on the Chemin de l'Ombre

means the left-hand lane is out of use   heading towards Avenue Louise.

Willy and Francine   will have to follow this advice.

This is the start   of their summer holidays,

and travelling safely   means inspecting their vehicle.

Fixing bikes, caravan balance, oil level -   they check everything.

For the caravan, we have to   particularly bear in mind its balance,

We also check the tyre pressure   for both the caravan and the car.

There are fewer accidents on Europe's   roads, despite rising car numbers.

In 2001 the European Union   decided to strengthen road safety.

By 2010 they aim to halve the number of   European road deaths.

France, Belgium and Portugal have   almost achieved this goal.

Speed limits, seat belts, breath tests -   police checks have become much stricter.

Modern cars are constantly getting   safer, which is great news for road safety.

It is nonetheless true that over 80% of   accidents are caused by human error.

Therefore, vehicle improvements   won't necessarily help much.

Motorists use the excuse of driving   abroad to break the highway code,

as they are not required to pay fines   issued in a foreign country.

To change bad habits, some EU countries   would like to set up common rules.

Others, however, do not want to give   policing powers to the EU.

To reduce road deaths   the EU must make road safety a priority.