The European Commission proposed on Thursday 17 May that private cars should be compulsorily fitted with eleven advanced safety features to cut road deaths and also, more generally, to improve road safety.
The draft vehicle general safety regulation, repealing the regulations currently in force, forms part of the third and final mobility package which seeks to reduce CO2 emissions from heavy-duty vehicles, digitise transport and improve road safety (see other articles). This text, along with the proposal on road infrastructure, falls naturally into this last category.
The aim, for Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc, as she stated in the press conference, is “to protect all road users”. “Our goal is to ensure is that all road users, regardless the price of the car, will be able to benefit from the latest developments in technology”, she added. The proposal, a key element of this final mobility package was keenly awaited by both road safety associations and the automotive industries, which will be directly affected by new rules on vehicle design.
Among its recommendations, the Commission suggests that, in future, all vehicles should be equipped with an accurate tyre pressure monitoring system, capable of giving an in-vehicle warning to the driver. Other suggestions common to light and heavy vehicles are intelligent speed assistance, facilitation of installation of an alcohol interlock, driver drowsiness and attention monitoring, and advanced distraction recognition.
The Commission then proposes provisions specifically for light vehicles (private cars and vans), including advanced emergency braking systems, lane-keeping systems and an event (i.e. accident) data recorder. In all, if the proposal were to be adopted, installation of eleven advanced systems would be compulsory on new private cars three years after the regulation comes into effect.
Though proposals for buses and lorries differ somewhat, the Commission would like these, too, ultimately to be fitted with a lane departure warning system and advanced systems capable of detecting vulnerable road users in close proximity to the front or nearside of the vehicle. Without setting out precise provisions, the Commission wants these vehicles “to be designed and constructed in such a way so as to improve the visibility of vulnerable road users from driver’s seat”, drivers’ lack of visibility being one of the causes of accidents.
The Commission estimates that, if these measures were put in place, 7,300 lives would be saved and 38,900 serious injuries avoided over the period from 2020 to 2030.
Civil society satisfied. The Commission’s road safety proposals were warmly welcomed by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC). In a press release, its Executive Director Antonio Avenoso hailed announcements which “announcements could represent the biggest step forward in road safety in Europe since the introduction of the seat belt”. “It is absolutely crucial that EU Member States and the European Parliament give their backing to the plans”, he made plain, however.
The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) was similarly pleased. ACEA Secretary General Erik Jonnaert said: “We welcome the initiative to revise the safety regulations”. “What is needed is an EU road safety policy that prioritises measures which deliver the most optimal results, while also being the most cost-effective”, he added. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)