Subject matter and scope

1. This Directive requires the establishment and implementation of procedures relating to road safety impact assessments, road safety audits, road safety inspections and network-wide road safety assessments by the Member States.

2. This Directive shall apply to roads which are part of the trans-European road network, to motorways and to other primary roads, whether they are at the design stage, under construction or in operation.

3. This Directive shall also apply to roads and to road infrastructure projects not covered by paragraph 2 which are situated outside urban areas, which do not serve properties bordering on them and which are completed using Union funding, with the exception of roads that are not open to general motor vehicle traffic, such as bicycle paths, or roads that are not designed for general traffic, such as access roads to industrial, agricultural or forestry sites.

4. Member States may exempt from the scope of this Directive primary roads which have a low risk for safety, based on duly justified grounds connected to traffic volumes and accident statistics.

Member States may include in the scope of this Directive roads not referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3.

Each Member State shall notify to the Commission, by 17 December 2021, the list of motorways and primary roads on its territory and, thereafter, any subsequent changes thereto. In addition, each Member State shall notify to the Commission the list of roads exempted in accordance with this paragraph from, or included in the scope of, this Directive, and, thereafter, any subsequent changes thereto.

The Commission shall publish the list of roads notified in accordance with this Article.

5. This Directive shall not apply to roads in tunnels covered by Directive 2004/54/EC.’;

Article 2 is amended as follows:

point 1 is replaced by the following:

“trans-European road network” means the road networks identified in Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( *1 ) ;

( *1 ) Regulation (EU) No 1315/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 on Union guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network and repealing Decision No 661/2010/EU ( OJ L 348, 20.12.2013, p. 1 ).’;"

the following points are inserted:

“motorway” means a road, specially designed and built for motor traffic, which does not serve properties bordering on it and which meets the following criteria:

it is provided, except at special points or temporarily, with separate carriageways for the two directions of traffic, separated from each other either by a dividing strip not intended for traffic or, exceptionally, by other means;

it does not cross at level with any road, railway or tramway track, bicycle path or footpath;

it is specifically designated as a motorway;

“primary road” means a road outside urban areas that connects major cities or regions, or both, belonging to the highest category of road below the category “motorway” in the national road classification that is in place on 26 November 2019;’;

point 5 is deleted;

points 6 and 7 are replaced by the following:

“safety rating” means the classification of parts of the existing road network in categories according to their objectively measured in-built safety;

“targeted road safety inspection” means a targeted investigation to identify hazardous conditions, defects and problems that increase the risk of accidents and injuries, based on a site visit of an existing road or section of road;’;

the following point is inserted:

“periodic road safety inspection” means an ordinary periodical verification of the characteristics and defects that require maintenance work for reasons of safety;’;

the following point is added:

“vulnerable road user” means non-motorised road users, including, in particular, cyclists and pedestrians, as well as users of powered two-wheelers.’;

in Article 4, the following paragraph is added:

The Commission shall provide guidance for the design of “forgiving roadsides” and “self-explaining and self-enforcing roads” in the initial audit of the design phase, as well as guidance on quality requirements regarding vulnerable road users. Such guidance shall be developed in close cooperation with Member State experts.’;

Article 5 is replaced by the following:

DIRECTIVE (EU) 2019/1936 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 23 October 2019 amending Directive 2008/96/EC on road infrastructure safety management ANNEX