MEPs back life-saving vehicle safety standards in key vote

February 2019

Members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) have approved a range of new vehicle safety standards.

The measures include new crash testing requirements, mandatory installation of driver assistance systems including Automated Emergency Braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, overridable Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) and Emergency Lane Keeping, as well as a new direct vision standard for lorries and buses to enable drivers to have a better view of other road users around their vehicle. 

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The requirements, which will only apply to new vehicles, also include installation of Event Data Recorders, which record critical information on the status of a vehicle in the moments before a collision and, as in the aviation sector, could help crash investigators understand the causes of collisions in order to help prevent them in the future.

Antonio Avenoso, Executive Director of the European Transport Safety Council, said:
“This legislation represents a major step forward for road safety in Europe, and could save 25,000 lives within fifteen years of coming into force." 

“Final negotiations between the Parliament, Member States and the European Commission should now begin as soon as possible.  Minimum vehicle safety standards in the EU were last updated in 2009, so there is no time to lose.”
 
While this vote focused on vehicle safety measures, EU legislators are also trying to reach a final deal on an accompanying package of infrastructure safety management requirements, which could lead to thousands more lives saved.

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