Skip to main content

Europe’s new safety rules to cut crashes

A new plan will help boost road safety in Europe, with the rules governing cars and trucks being revised. The move comes following pressure from campaigning groups pushing vehicle manufacturers to equip their products with new safety systems. This move is intended to boost overall vehicle safety and cut casualties and road deaths across the EU. The draft policy document for the move has outlined a series of initiatives to be adopted this year. This will includes changes to the current vehicle safety regulat
May 26, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
A new plan will help boost road safety in Europe, with the rules governing cars and trucks being revised. The move comes following pressure from campaigning groups pushing vehicle manufacturers to equip their products with new safety systems. This move is intended to boost overall vehicle safety and cut casualties and road deaths across the EU.


The draft policy document for the move has outlined a series of initiatives to be adopted this year. This will includes changes to the current vehicle safety regulations, which have been in place since 2009.

Road safety gains in the EU have been sluggish and have not kept pace with the aim to halve road deaths in the period from 2010 to 2020. It is hoped that this new plan will bring road safety improvements back on track. Although the 25,500 road deaths in the EU during 2016 were 2% fewer than that of the previous year, far greater safety improvements need to be achieved.

One technical solution thought to offer major benefits will be introduction of cameras and detection equipment to heavy trucks in a bid to minimise blind spots. These systems would reduce the risks for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists. Other safety systems being suggested include intelligent speed assistance and autonomous emergency braking.

The plans could also see car owners having to pay charges based on the CO2 emissions the vehicles produce.

Related Content

  • Road safety improving, but vulnerable road users need protection
    January 11, 2013
    Preliminary data from France over the number of fatalities on the road network reveal safety improvements during 2012. The numbers killed dropped by 7-8%, although the final figures for December are not yet available. The preliminary figures suggest that around 3,600-3,700 were killed on French roads in 2012, compared with 3,970 in 2011. This reduction is in line with targets on cutting the death rate and Ministry of the Interior wants to bring the fatality rate to just 2,000 by 2020. This reduction has bee
  • Concern over decline in Europe’s road safety
    March 31, 2016
    An increase in road fatalities and serious injuries has been recorded for 2015. This has become clear following the publication of the European Commission’s 2015 provisional road safety figures. The data reveals an increase in fatalities compared to the previous year. And even in 2014, there was only a 0.6% reduction, and it had been the first year for some time without a significant drop in deaths and injuries. This stagnation means that the EU is further away from its goal of halving road deaths by 2020.
  • Improving barrier safety for motorcyclists
    February 23, 2012
    Mike Woof reports on delays to better barrier safety for Europe’s powered two wheeler riders. Safety for vulnerable road users continues to be a matter of some debate in Europe. Although powered two wheelers account for a comparatively small number of Europe’s vehicles as well as total distance travelled, they account for a disproportionately large number of accidents. Statistical data shows that by far the greatest risk to users of powered two wheelers as well as other vulnerable road users comes from driv
  • Road safety concern for Europe
    May 19, 2015
    A quick look at corporate results for some of the major construction equipment manufacturers paints a somewhat confusing picture of current demand. Caterpillar, the world’s largest manufacturer of off-highway machines and for so long a bell-wether for the construction sector, recently released results showing a drop in profits. CNH and Volvo CE too have been similarly afflicted with a lower than expected financial performance, perhaps a major factor in Volvo CE's decision to pull out of a joint venture part