Brussels, 14/06/2001 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission is proposing to impose speed limiters on all lorries and cars of over 3.5 tonnes. Last week, it adopted a draft directive along these lines, to extend the scope of the 1992 legislation which imposed speed limiters on all lorries of over 12 tonnes, whose maximum speed is limited to 90 km/h, and to buses of over 10 tonnes, whose speed is limited to 100 km/h. It does not on the other hand plan to extend the directive to specific vehicles, a press release specifies.
In a report accompanying its proposal, the Commission notes that, on the whole, the installation of speed limiters has allowed falls in fuel consumption from 3 to 11%, a reduction in the number of fatal accidents and decreases in the amount of insurance premiums. The longer delivery times and the heightened insecurity when overtaking other vehicles are, on the other hand, the two main adverse effects of speed limiters. The authors of the report feel, however, that if all the speed limiters were adjusted exactly to the same speed, overtaking would not be as frequent.
This measure is a major instrument for strengthening road safety and improving the quality of vehicles from the environment point of view, said Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio, in a press release. The European Commission estimates at EUR 3 billion the net financial benefit of speed limiters, on one hand in terms of installation costs and, on the other, in terms of advantages linked to emission reduction, noise, fuel costs and tyre wear.
The adoption of a European legislation on speed limiters is one of the road safety priorities taken on board by the European Parliament in January and by the Council in June 2000. While "supporting action that will have a positive impact on road safety", the representatives of the sector fear its effects. Road hauliers would have liked a threshold above 3.5 tonnes, over which the European legislation makes it compulsory for the driver to hold a professional licence. There is the risk that some hauliers might use the loopholes in the legislation and step up transport with vehicles weighing less than 3.5 tonnes, fears Winfried Röhman, responsible for freight issues in the International Road Transport Union. In his view, speed limiters will also lose their interest with the development of telematics applied to transport and the setting in place of an "intelligent road network".