New cars, vans, trucks and buses sold in Europe will be fitted with a range of new vehicle safety features as standard, according to a provisional EU deal on the legislation.
The new rules include requirements for new technologies, such as Automated Emergency Braking (AEB) which can detect pedestrians and cyclists, as well as overridable Intelligent Speed Assistance, to be fitted as standard. New trucks will be required to have improved levels of “direct vision” to give drivers a greater chance of seeing vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists around the vehicle.
The legislation also makes it easier to retrofit an alcohol interlock device in an effort to tackle repeat drink-driving and new vehicles will be fitted with data recorders that store data on the car’s status in the moments immediately before a collision.
“There have only been a handful of moments in the last fifty years which could be described as big leaps forward for road safety in Europe,” said Antonio Avenoso, Executive Director of the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC). “The mandatory introduction of the seat belt was one, and the first EU minimum crash safety standards, agreed in 1998 was another. If yesterday’s agreement is given the formal green light in September, it will represent another of those moments, preventing 25,000 deaths within 15 years of coming into force.”
Negotiators from the European Parliament and European Commission have agreed the final shape of the regulations with representatives of EU Member State governments. The negotiated deal is provisional and is still subject to formal votes in the European Parliament and by EU Member States.
