The European Parliament, Council and Commission have agreed that the next generation of vehicle safety standards are to become mandatory in new European vehicles by 2022, as recommended by TRL.
The final consequential chain of active and passive safety measures will see the development of cutting-edge vehicles with advanced safety measures that are predicted to save up to 25,000 lives and prevent 140,000 serious injuries in the following 16 years.
Richard Cuerden, head of TRL’s academy, said, “The advanced safety measures for new vehicles will provide state-of-the-art protection to all road users. Intelligent speed assistance, and drowsiness and distraction recognition will support drivers in their ongoing tasks.
“Autonomous emergency braking and emergency lane keeping will intervene in the most critical situations to avoid a crash; and improved crash tests will ensure that injuries of occupants as well as pedestrians and cyclists are minimized in the remaining collisions.”
Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska, added, “With the new advanced safety features, we can have the same kind of impact as when the safety belts were first introduced. Many of the new features already exist, in particular in high-end vehicles. Now we raise the safety level across the board, and pave the way for connected and automated mobility of the future.”
The new agreement is now subject to formal approval before being implemented across Europe.
