BUS SAFETY FIRST: Key takeaways from the ETF bus collision safety event in Rome

The ETF event on bus collision safety, held on 24 September in Rome and hosted by the Italian trade union FILT-CGIL, brought together over 50 participants. Among them were representatives from nearly 30 transport unions in urban public transport and road passenger transport, as well as speakers from the Norwegian parliament, the Institute of Transport Economics (TØI), ROADPOL the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), and the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).

The message from the event was loud and clear: bus and coach drivers deserve the same level of safety as truck drivers when it comes to vehicle construction.

Discussions ranged from technical aspects of the bus design to broader ETF objectives, such as improving the working conditions and ensuring safety at work for bus and coach drivers. Several key conclusions emerged from the event:

• There is a UN regulation for truck construction standards, so why not for buses? This regulatory gap is unacceptable and must be closed.
• We need collective action: We need to put pressure on our national government representatives in the UNECE body to bring this topic up on the agenda.
• We must put pressure on the manufacturers to invest in more safe vehicles: Today, many manufacturers acknowledge the issue and are open to discussions, but they are not willing to bear the cost of safety improvements.
• Drivers have the right to be informed: Many drivers do not know about the lack of vehicle protection, and this must change.
• Buses are less safe in many ways: The higher the drivers sit, the better chance of survival in a crash. While buses used to be made of steel, they are now made of plastic.
• Safety standards vary significantly between types of buses: One example is that many city buses still lack seat belts, while coaches are generally better equipped.

Over the past year, the Norwegian trade union Fellesforbundet, along with expert researchers from Norway, has taken a leading role in the ETF’s work on bus collision safety. Their data shows that current safety standards are alarmingly insufficient. In the last decade alone, an estimated 963 drivers have died in Europe due to inadequate frontal protection. Shockingly, even low-speed collisions (as slow as 30 km/h) have proven fatal. Fellesforbundet has also been actively pressing the national government to take urgent action on this issue.

At the start of 2025, the ETF established a dedicated working group of experts and union members. This collaboration has already delivered two major outcomes: this successful Rome event, and the adoption of a joint manifesto. The manifesto lays out the core safety challenges and calls on policymakers for urgent solutions. It will serve as a foundation for future advocacy of our trade union members. We’ve seen strong interest from affiliates who want to bring the manifesto forward to their national government representatives in the UNECE decision-making process.

At the end of the conference when the manifesto was adopted, Stefan Thyroke (ETF Road Section Chair) emphasised the following: “Three measures are necessary next. 1. Disseminating our findings and demands among trade unions and, above all, among the drivers affected. 2. Contacting bus and coach manufacturers to draw attention to the need for improvement. And 3. We will seek the support of the insurance industry and statutory accident insurance providers to improve the situation for our colleagues in the future.”

It is clear that change is needed, and ETF must and will lead that change. While the political direction has been set through the newly adopted bus collision manifesto, we now need collective actions.

Find more information about the topic here, including the research report, and the presentations by our speakers.