The new safety measures will help to better protect passengers, pedestrians and cyclists across the EU, expected to save over 25,000 lives and prevent at least 140,000 serious injuries by 2038.
The new general vehicle safety regulation comes into effect today. It introduces a range of mandatory advanced driver assistance systems to improve road safety and establishes the legal framework for the approval of automated and driverless vehicles in the EU.
The new safety measures will help to better protect passengers, pedestrians and cyclists across the EU, expected to save over 25,000 lives and prevent at least 140,000 serious injuries by 2038.
As the entry into force of the General Safety Regulation empowers the Commission to finalize the legal framework for automated and connected vehicles, the Commission will this summer issue technical rules for the approval of driverless vehicles, making the EU a pioneer in the field. This will enable driverless vehicles to circulate in the EU, increase public trust, stimulate innovation and improve the competitiveness of the European car industry.
Executive Vice-President for a ‘Digital-Ready Europe’, Margrethe Vesteyjer, said: “Technology helps us increase the safety level of our cars. New advanced and mandatory safety features will further help reduce the number of casualties. Today, we are also ensuring that our rules allow us to safely introduce autonomous and driverless vehicles into the EU in a framework that puts people’s safety at the forefront epicenter.»
Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said: “With speed assist, lane keeping and automated braking systems our vehicles are becoming more and more automated. With the new vehicle safety legislation implemented today, Europe is ensuring that this technology improves the daily lives of our citizens and that the automotive industry has a predictable and safe framework to continue developing innovative technological solutions and remain competitive at a global level.”
General safety rules
From today, new measures introducing safety features to assist the driver include:
• For all road vehicles (i.e. cars, semi-trucks, trucks and buses): intelligent speed control system, reversing detection with camera or sensors, attention warning in case of driver drowsiness or distraction, event data recorders, as well as stop signal emergency·
• For cars and trucks: Additional features such as lane keeping systems and automatic braking;
• For buses and trucks: technologies to better identify potential blind spots, warnings to prevent collisions with pedestrians or cyclists and tire pressure monitoring systems.
The rules will first apply to new types of vehicles from today onwards, and to all new vehicles from 7 July 2024. Some of the new measures will be extended to cover different types of road vehicles by 2029.
Technical rules for automated cars
Under the General Safety Regulation, the Commission plans to adopt this summer technical rules for automated and connected vehicles, focusing in particular on automated vehicles that replace the driver on highways (level 3 automation) and driverless vehicles such as city buses or taxi-robots (automation level 4). The new rules will align EU law with the new UN rules on level 3 automation and will adopt new EU technical legislation for driverless vehicles, the first international rules of their kind. The technical rules established by means of a delegated and implementing act will establish a comprehensive assessment of the safety and maturity of fully automated vehicles before they are placed on the EU market. They will cover testing procedures, cybersecurity requirements, data logging rules, as well as safety performance monitoring and incident reporting requirements from driverless vehicle manufacturers.
Record
The Commission presented the revised General Safety Regulation in 2018. The rules addressed the need to improve vehicle safety and road safety, as studies estimate that human error plays a role in 95% of accidents. The European Parliament and EU Member States subsequently approved the Regulation in November 2019. Since then, the Commission has issued a series of relevant implementing regulations covering the various driver assistance measures introduced by the Regulation.
The Commission’s proposal for the revised General Safety Regulation also accompanied the publication of the EU Strategy for Automated Mobility, which outlines a comprehensive set of EU actions to develop connected and automated mobility systems. This envisaged actions covering the development of key technologies and infrastructure, establishing the appropriate regulatory framework for the EU’s internal market and ensuring that automated mobility benefits European citizens.
Elena Papadimitriou
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