Brussels, 28/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - Still convinced of the need to reduce the level of noise from cars in order to protect public health, of the need to make electric and hybrid cars more audible and of the need to inform consumers about the sound levels of new vehicles, MEPs from the European Parliament's environment committee nevertheless reviewed their initial ambitions downwards on Wednesday 27 November so as to maintain the industry's competitiveness. It was by a comfortable majority (45 votes in favour, 11 against and one abstention) that they approved the provisional agreement in Brussels - an agreement, negotiated in trialogue, on the draft for a new European regulation on harmful motor vehicle noise.
The approved agreement introduces an obligation on noise labels and on stricter sound limits which would be established two, four and ten years after the entry into force of the new regulation. The first phase will be applied to new vehicle types. The second and third phases will concern all new vehicles produced. The limits for standard cars are to decrease to 68 decibels from the current 74 db. More powerful vehicles will receive a margin of one to nine extra decibels. The text lowers the limit for the most powerful heavy lorries (over 12 tonnes) to 79 db from 84 db. It recognises that vehicle noise is also affected by the road surface and tyre type. For the safety of passengers and cyclists, the text provides for the harmonisation of acoustic systems - adjusted to make hybrid and electric vehicles more audible.
Miroslav Ouzky (ECR, Czech Republic), who led the negotiations for the Parliament, described the text as “an optimal compromise that will contribute to the protection of health in our European citizens” and he said that “it should not cause any loss of competitiveness for the European automotive industry”.
By contrast, the NGO T&E (Transport & Environment) believes that public health has been sacrificed on the altar of industrial interests. T&E regrets that the length of time before the new law is fully introduced has been extended to 15 years - when the initial proposal from the European Commission was for seven years. As the length of time for the European car fleet to be renewed is 15 years, it will be necessary to wait for 30 years for the benefits of the lower noise levels to be delivered, states T&E. T&E also believes that the agreed text will lead to less benefit for health (€123 million) but almost the same cost for industry (€5.7 billion). “MEPs and national governments have turned down a huge opportunity to improve the quality of life and health”, says Cécile Toubeau from T&E.
This informal agreement paves the way for the adoption of a Council common position, scheduled for December, on the future regulation which is intended to repeal the obsolete Directive 70/157/ECC. (AN/transl.fl)