Brussels, 29/03/2007 (Agence Europe) - By adopting the report by Paolo Costa (ALDE, Italy) by 38 votes in favour, none against, and 4 abstentions, the European Parliament's transport committee has given its firm backing to the Commission's proposal for compulsory refitting of blind spot mirrors on older lorries. MEPs, however, want to go further than the European Commission and are calling for a clear final deadline: 30 June 2008. The plenary vote on this report (first reading) is expected in May, in Strasbourg.
Under a 2003 EU Directive, new lorries must be equipped with blind spot mirrors from 2007 on. But the transport committee, endorsing a Commission proposal for a directive, says that these mirrors should be also be retrofitted to older lorries, registered as from 1 January 2000. At current replacement rates, the EU population of some 5 million lorries (not counting those owned in Romania and Bulgaria) would not be entirely replaced until 2023. Until then, the danger to vulnerable road users, particularly children, would continue to exist, and this is unacceptable, says rapporteur Paolo Costa.
The committee therefore demands that owners be legally obliged to retrofit these mirrors to heavy lorries in operation since 2000. Its key difference with some transport ministers on this proposal is that it believes that the implementation deadline - currently two years - is too generous, given that member states already have a year to transpose the directive into their national laws. To prevent any delay in retrofitting, the committee proposes a clear final deadline: 30 June 2008. "Delaying the introduction of the measure would reduce its effectiveness and the beneficial effects of its implementation, which are to save lives. An extra 1,200 lives could be saved up to 2020, if the implementation was to start from 2008 and the societal costs would correspond to €2.4 billion", said Mr Costa.
MEPs do not anticipate any practical problem in retrofitting lorries registered after 2000. The estimated cost would be around €100-150 per lorry. The committee notes that Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark have already implemented national retrofitting schemes. It also favours accompanying measures, including awareness-raising campaigns for all road users, and would welcome the collection of data in order to provide a more comprehensive analysis and a better strategy for preventing blind spot accidents. Finally, the committee says that a study should be commissioned on the desirability of bringing other types of vehicles, and in particular smaller goods vehicles, within the scope of this legislation. (ol)