Tajani urges EU road safety checks

European Transport Commissioner Antonio Tajani on Monday urged the proper application of European law relating to road safety after eight people died in a motorway accident in Veneto last week.
Tajani made his comments after a Polish lorry driver ploughed his vehicle through the central barrier of the A4 motorway on Friday, smashing into two cars and a second lorry.
It is thought that the lorry driver, who was among the victims, had fallen asleep at the wheel.
''European laws that set limits for working hours and daily breaks for lorry drivers already exist. These need to be applied, while all non-EU member countries who have signed agreements with the EU also need to verify that the laws are being applied,'' he said.
The commissioner said he shared the concerns of Italian Public Works Minister Altero Matteoli, who has called for controls on foreign lorry drivers to be stepped up.
''At the moment we don't know whether a lorry driver has been at the wheel for one hour or for eight hours when he crosses the border into Italy,'' Matteoli told the press.
Matteoli also called for the introduction of black boxes - already installed in Italian lorries - in lorries from other countries.