The European Parliament previously voted to allow lorry makers to introduce changes to lorry cabs, intended to improve visibility and reduce the impact of crashes on other vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, straight away without forcing them to do so.

However, in yesterday’s (5th June) vote, transport ministers agreed to ban the introduction of safer and cleaner lorry cabs from Europe’s roads for at least eight years: three years for the law to be transposed into national law and at least five years delay thereafter.

The move means that the European Parliament, Council and Commission will now have to find a compromise in so-called trilogue negotiations before the final law can be adopted.

William Todts, senior policy officer at environmental NGO Transport & Environment, criticised the move, saying: ‘Allowing rounder lorry cabs will not only make Europe’s roads safer, but cleaner too. Extending today’s ban on better cabs is a truly shameful decision because it puts the interests of a few manufacturers above those of everybody else. In the upcoming trilogue negotiations, the Parliament must insist that better lorry cabs are allowed straight away.’

His comments were echoed by Antonio Avenoso, executive director of the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), who said: ‘Putting the brakes on vehicle safety innovation is just a bad idea. In the past, we have seen technologies such as better pedestrian protection and anti-lock braking systems be put on vehicles long before they were made legal requirements. The public wants to see safer lorries available as soon as possible; so we hope MEPs will fight to get rid of this delay when negotiations begin on a final deal.’

According to ETSC data, around 4300 people died in collisions involving lorries in 2011. A study carried out for the European Commission estimates that as many as 500 lives could be saved every year if the cabs were made safer.

In response, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) said that, should it become mandatory to re-design truck fronts in order to improve their fuel-efficiency performance, the lead time granted to the industry must reflect the complexity and expense of this exercise, ‘bearing in mind that trucks are very complex to design and are also produced in small volumes’.

It added: ‘This lead time should respect the product lifecycle for a new truck, which is on average 10-15 years. This means that manufacturers need to know about a new regulatory framework several years before its implementation.’


ACEA secretary general, Erik Jonnaert said: ‘The industry is committed to continuing to improve truck safety. Safety technologies that prevent accidents happening in the first place are the best way forward.’

Regarding improvements to forward, side and rear vision for instance, the ACEA said the use of new technologies such as cameras and proximity detectors will provide a quicker, more flexible and more efficient way to improve the safety of pedestrians and cyclists than re-designed cabs. This technological approach to safety is covered by different legislation – the General Safety Regulation.

Meanwhile, on the controversial issue of “megatrucks”, transport ministers rejected the Commission’s proposal to allow the cross-border use of longer lorries. A blocking minority of governments argued such an allowance could lead to a domino effect, where country after country would be pressured into accepting its neighbour's megatrucks. Members of the European Parliament had previously demanded that the Commission properly assesses the impact of wider megatrucks use and report back to Parliament in 2016 before deciding.

A final deal on the proposals now needs to be agreed by representatives of the European Parliament, Commission and Member States.