Brussels, 17/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Monday, the European Commission presented its new communication on the “i2010”, “intelligent car” initiative. The document sets out the new projects to be sponsored by the Commission in order to consolidate the improvements made since the first communication was adopted in February 2006. Top priorities remain the concept of safer, greener and smarter cars.
Accident avoidance technologies. The Commission calls on member states that have not yet done so, to sign the Commission's eCall agreement on the automatic emergency call system, and it is planning regulatory measures for 2008 to speed up the process. To date, over 50 interested parties have signed the agreement as well as Germany, Austria, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Lithuania, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden and Switzerland. Portugal, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands have just signed up to it. The “e-Call” system should allow 2,500 lives to be saved each year. The motor industry is invited to equip all new cars with the “e-Call” system as of 2010. Also, the Commission will this year be holding a consultation with a view to equipping cars with electronic stability control (ESC) systems more rapidly, which could reduce the number of deaths by 4,000 and prevent nearly 100,000 accidents. It will also discuss whether fitting braking assistance and crash avoidance systems should be compulsory for all cars. The Commission will also produce guidelines on incentives, such as member state tax schemes, for smart car systems by mid-2008.
Environment. In 2008, the Commission will be proposing a plan to roll out the most effective low-CO2 technologies, targeting both the vehicles and the infrastructure. This will follow the results of work to quantify ICTs' contribution to reducing CO2 in road transport.
Safety. The communication suggests that the interested parties should develop a standard interface to connect, for example, mobile navigation devices with other systems integrated into the vehicle. It also calls on equipment suppliers and carmakers to implement its December 2006 Human-Machine-Interfaces recommendation on general principles for the safe installing and use of mobile information and communication systems brought into the car. It will continue to fund research into smart communications for safer and more efficient transport. (il)