The European Union has ratified a revision to its road safety regulations that requires automakers to make a raft of active safety and driver assist features standard in new cars starting in 2022.
Under the new rules, all light-duty passenger vehicles will have to come standard with driver drowsiness/distraction detection systems, backup cameras and/or sensors, automatic emergency braking and collision data recorders.
Other mandatory items include pre-wiring for an alcohol interlock, an emergency stop signal, improved seatbelts, windshield safety glass to enlarge the head impact zone to protect cyclists and pedestrians and pole side impact protection for vehicle occupants.
The EU also wants cars to use traffic sign recognition for intelligent speed assistance systems that not only advise the driver of the speed limit but also slow the car to that limit, "unless overridden."
The regulatory update is part of the EU's goal of "moving close to zero fatalities and serious injuries by 2050" under a mandate dubbed Vision Zero.
According to the European Commission – the EU's executive branch responsible for creating and enacting legislation the new rules will save more than 25,000 lives and prevent at least 140,000 serious injuries between 2022 and 2038.
The EU says the vast majority of its roughly 25,000 annual road deaths "are caused by human error;" the new rules will force automakers to include active safety and driver assist features – most of which it acknowledges already exist in high-end vehicles – in cars at all price levels "and pave the way for connected and automated mobility of the future."
A May 2022 deadline for the inclusion of standard safety features applies to new models; for vehicles already on the market at that time, manufacturers will have until May 2024 to retrofit those models to add the assists.
Europe's announcement comes a week after Volvo revealed its plan to roll out a driver distraction detection system starting in the early 2020s. Earlier this month, the safety-obsessed Swedish said that in 2020 it will begin limiting the top speed of its vehicles to 180 km/h.
According to Simon Rivet, Senior Media Relations Advisor with Transport Canada, the department "is working with all levels of government and industry partners to implement safety measures to strengthen motor vehicle safety and reduce risks to Canadians, such as the adoption of collision avoidance technologies, and measures to prevent driver fatigue and distraction."
Rivet said the federal agency is currently conducting pilot projects on "detection and visibility systems, and exploring potential regulatory action concerning automatic emergency braking systems and advanced driver assist systems."
While Transport Canada is not ready to mandate those active safety features in new vehicles sold here, Rivet said Transport Canada "will continue to collect evidence to support informed decision-making on potential future safety policies related to new vehicle technologies."
