Transport safety news from ETSC

Safety Monitor Transport safety news from ETSC South Korea mandates new vehicle safety tech while EU delays again The South Korean transport ministry has announced that it will require all new passenger vehicles 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 has been delayed until May and is not expected to come into force until September 2020 at the earliest. Read more...

‘Safety concerns’ over mystery exemption to EU safety rules 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. Read more...   Safer speed limits and boost for alcohol interlocks as France announces major road safety push Two lane roads with no separating guard rail in France will have their default speed limit reduced from 90 to 80 km/h and alcohol interlocks will be required for recidivist drink driving offenders as part of the French government’s latest road safety crack-down. Read more...   Opinion: Safer speed limits – why France is taking the right road If France wants to seriously address the 3500 deaths that occur on its roads each year, tackling speed must be a top priority. Read more...   Zero-star car should be a wake-up call to regulators 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. Read more...   Antwerp to trial lorry ban at beginning and end of school day The Belgian city of Antwerp has announced a trial of restrictions on heavy goods vehicles in two areas during the early morning and afternoon on school days. Read more...   Volvo dials down the hype on automated driving trial Volvo Cars has reduced the scale of its Drive Me automated driving trial and delayed the roll-out of fully-automated driving features to real-world users. Read more...   Ireland considers tougher penalties for speeding The Irish transport minister Shane Ross has called for tougher penalties for drivers that speed. Responding to the latest road death figures for Ireland, which were lower than the previous year, he told the Irish Times newspaper that speeding should be treated like drink driving, with more penalty points for those that exceed speed limits by a higher degree. Read more...   Deal reached on professional driver training rules with watered down exemption New EU rules on professional driver training requirements will not include a proposed blanket exemption for lorry and bus drivers on journeys of less than 100km from the company base. That’s according to a legislative deal between the European Parliament and EU Member States agreed last month. Read more...   Uber must be regulated as a transport service says top EU court In a significant ruling, the Court of Justice of the European Union has said that services such as Uber must be considered as a transport service, and regulated by EU Member States as such. Read more...

Latest Publications Memorandum to the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU January 2018 Briefing: Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems (C-ITS) November 2017 Briefing: Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) September 2017 11th Annual Road Safety Performance Index (PIN) Report June 2017 Tapping the potential for reducing work-related road deaths and injuries (PIN Flash 33) June 2017