News - Page 2
The EU is set to adopt updated UNECE regulations on seatbelts that will require seatbelt reminder systems in all front and rear seats on new cars from September 2019. Existing EU vehicle safety rules agreed in 2009 only require seatbelt reminder systems on the driver’s seat. The updated requirements also include the front and rear passenger seats. In the front seats, the systems will need to be able to detect a passenger sitting and make an audible warning at the start of the journey […]
The German supermarket chain Aldi, has said all new lorries added to its fleet from 2019 will be fitted with turning assistant systems. The announcement came following a meeting organised by the German transport minister Andreas Scheuer with industry figures to discuss the issue of collisions caused by lorry drivers failing to see vulnerable road users in their blind spot when turning. The fitting of vulnerable road user detection and warning systems is one of the measures (see below) proposed by the European Commission in […]
Thatcham Research and the ABI (Association of British Insurers) have called on carmakers and legislators for greater clarity around the capability of vehicles sold with driver assistance and automated driving technologies. The call comes in the wake of growing reports of people crashing whilst over-relying on technology which is not yet designed to drive the car independently. The risks to drivers have been outlined in the new ‘Assisted and Automated Driving Definition and Assessment’ paper, which has identified dangerous grey areas associated with some […]
The third phase of new UN regulations covering the safety of child car seats has been agreed and will come into force next year. The new additions to the R129 standard cover baby and toddler seats held in position by a seatbelt, i.e. not attached to Isofix mounting points found on newer cars. Child seats built to this new standard would be a safer option for parents with older cars without Isofix points. Phase 1 of the R129 standard, which has been in place […]
All new vehicles sold in the EU will feature a standardised interface to enable the fitment of aftermarket alcohol interlock devices, according to new EU vehicle safety standards proposed last month. The proposed requirement, part of a package of new vehicle safety standards, should make it simpler and cheaper to fit an alcohol interlock when a driver is required to do so by law. Several EU countries have rehabilitation programmes for recidivist drink drivers that require installation of an interlock before a driver is […]
The European Parliament’s Transport Committee called last month for action from the European Commission against mileage fraud in Europe. Research on cross-border second-hand car sales has shows that up to 50% of odometers were tampered with, with an economic cost for buyers and businesses running into billions of Euros every year. Georges Bach MEP said: “It is unacceptable that many car buyers all over Europe are still victims of mileage fraud. Considering that the solution only costs a fraction of the economic damage incurred, […]
ETSC has written to the European Commission for the second time this year regarding concerns over the safety and approval process for new driver assist systems including lane change systems. Earlier this year, new rules on the functionality of lane change assist systems were agreed at the UNECE in Geneva. The rules could be integrated within EU law within a few months, meaning car manufacturers will be able to “type approve” vehicles fitted with such a system for sale across the EU. Such systems […]
European Commission announces major package of road safety measures including new targets to cut road deaths and serious injuries in half by 2030; World’s most advanced new car safety standards will make life-saving technologies such as Automated Emergency Braking and overridable Intelligent Speed Assistance a standard feature on all new vehicles; currently these features are only available as an option on some models; Race on for proposals to be approved by 28 EU Member States and the European Parliament. Veuillez trouver ci-dessous la version […]
New research from the US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has analysed the causes of a 46 percent increase in pedestrian deaths in the United States since 2009. A total of 5,987 pedestrians were killed in crashes in 2016, accounting for 16 percent of all crash deaths in the US. The number of pedestrians killed in 2016 was the highest since 1990. For the new study, IIHS researchers looked at pedestrian crash trends during 2009–2016 to pinpoint the circumstances under which the largest […]
The European Commission will announce a major package of road safety legislation next month including new vehicle safety standards, revised rules on infrastructure safety management, a strategy on automated driving as well as a new overarching road safety framework setting targets for the decade to 2030. The announcements, expected on 16 May, are being published after lengthy delays and several years of slow to non-existent progress on reducing road deaths and serious injuries in the EU. Figures published earlier this month showed that deaths […]
The 2018 Nissan Leaf electric car is the first to be awarded five stars by Euro NCAP, the consumer new car testing programme under a new tougher regime that includes a test for autonomous emergency braking systems that can detect cyclists. ETSC welcomed the inclusion of more technology that can help save the lives of vulnerable road users outside the vehicle. Carmakers’ focus in recent years has been on protecting vehicle occupants, with deaths among that group falling at a faster rate than those […]
All new models of car launched in the EU since 31 March include eCall, the automated emergency call system that alerts emergency services in the event of a collision. Research showed that, with eCall, emergency service response time would be cut by 50% in rural areas and 40% in urban areas. Inclusion of the system means that all new models of car sold in the EU are fitted with GPS devices and are capable of communication over the GSM phone network. This will facilitate […]
In a letter to the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, 14 organisations have called for a ‘strong and timely response’ to forthcoming proposals from the European Commission on vehicle safety and pedestrian protection, expected on 2 May. The letter is signed by: Antonio Avenoso, Executive Director, European Transport Safety Council Eduardo Chagas, General Secretary, European Transport Workers’ Federation Sigrid de Vries, Secretary General, CLEPA, European Association of Automotive Suppliers Bernhard Ensink, Secretary General, European Cyclists’ Federation Eduard Fernández, Executive Director, CITA, International […]
The hype surrounding automated driving threatens to hold back progress over the next few years in reducing the 1.25m deaths that occur annually on the world’s roads. By 2030, there may well be a few million self-driving cars globally, but there will also be more than 1bn cars driving that do not have such features. Many of those vehicles are the ones that will leave factories this year and next. The issue is that policymakers, as well as carmakers, are becoming so obsessed with […]
More than 8,000 children aged 0-14 years have been killed in road traffic collisions over the last ten years in the European Union, new data show. Half of the children killed were travelling in cars, a third were walking and 13% were cycling, according to a report published today by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC). One in every 13 child deaths in the European Union occurs as a result of a road collision. The European Commission is expected to announce a long-overdue update […]
The European Commission has requested that six Member States fully transpose into national law rules agreed in 2014 on roadworthiness testing for motor vehicles. The rules, made up of three EU Directives, should have been in place in all Member States by 20 May 2017. To date, however, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Romania and Slovakia have not – or only partially – done so. The Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia have not adopted, published and communicated to the Commission measures on the […]
The South Korean transport ministry has announced that it will require all new large passenger vehicles and trucks to be fitted with Automated Emergency Braking (AEB) and Lane Departure Warning (LDW) systems from January 2019. Meanwhile an expected announcement of new EU vehicle legislation mandating these and other technologies for new cars has been delayed until May. EU vehicle safety standards have not been updated since 2009, and while its 19 proposed measures are more comprehensive than any other region’s current plans, further delays […]
EU Member States have approved an exemption to EU vehicle type approval rules for a new automated lane change system, despite safety concerns being raised. No details of the system have been made public including the name of the make and model of vehicle the system will be fitted to. In a behind-closed-doors meeting in December of the “Technical Committee – Motor Vehicles” (TCMV) EU Member State representatives approved a European Commission decision to grant the German government permission to certify EU-wide a new […]
The Fiat Punto is the first car ever to be awarded a zero star rating by Euro NCAP, the consumer testing organisation, in a development that highlights the risks of the EU failing to update minimum vehicle safety standards for almost a decade. Euro NCAP regularly updates the criteria for its star rating scheme, and retests cars to ensure safety levels are maintained in light of technological improvements. The minimum legal requirements for the EU market however were last updated in 2009 meaning it […]
The European Commission’s working group on Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (the C-ITS platform) has published its Phase II Final Report, which includes a number of recommendations for prioritising road safety. C-ITS encompasses sharing of data from transport infrastructure to vehicles, and from vehicle to vehicle. The technology can support drivers but will also develop as a complement to automated and autonomous vehicles. The platform’s road safety working group, of which ETSC was a participant, set out a list of priority C-ITS services with higher […]