Plans for new vehicle safety standards that will see features including AEB and intelligent speed limiters become standard on new cars from 2022 have taken a further step forwards in a significant move for road safety.

The provisional deal will see AEB, as well as other driver assistance tech, become mandatory from 2022

Greenlighted by members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) last month, the transport policy proposals would see a range of different systems, including advanced safety features such as autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection and overridable intelligent speed assistance (ISA), alcohol interlock installation facilitation, drowsiness and attention detection and accident data recorders, be required on new cars within the next three years. According to TRL, which developed the standards, the measures will save 25,000 lives in the first 15 years of implementation.

A provisional EU deal on the legislation was reached last night (25^th March) in Strasbourg and was welcomed by the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC).

Antonio Avenoso, executive director of the ETSC, said: “There have only been a handful of moments in the last 50 years which could be described as big leaps forward for road safety in Europe.  The mandatory introduction of the seat belt was one, and the first EU minimum crash safety standards, agreed in 1998 was another. If yesterday’s agreement is given the formal green light in September, it will represent another of those moments, preventing 25,000 deaths within 15 years of coming into force.

“Although this legislation was many years in the planning stages, there has been relatively little time for political discussions over its final shape. We would like to pay tribute to the MEPs and representatives of the Commission and Member States that have worked tirelessly to get a deal done before the big changeover at the European Parliament and European Commission this summer.”

The provisional deal is subject to formal votes in the European Parliament and by EU Member States – a process that could still take several more months, according to the ETSC.