European Parliament wants to make speed assist for new cars by 2022

The European Commission wants new cars to be equipped with more advanced safety systems from 2022. Among other things, a speed assistant, drowsiness detection and an emergency braking system are mandatory according to the plan.

According to the relevant parliamentary committee IMCO, the speed assistant must ‘tell’ the driver with haptic feedback via the accelerator pedal when he is (almost) speeding. This system cannot be switched off, although the driver can continue to drive. The motorist therefore does not have to press the accelerator pedal hard or harder to drive faster and the car normally does not brake automatically. If the car is driving with cruise control, it should automatically adjust to a reduction in maximum speed. The car receives information about the speed limits via traffic infrastructure or map data.

According to the proposal, a lane system in which the car automatically remains in one lane will also become mandatory. The car can then automatically brake and steer if a collision could occur due to a lane change. An automatic emergency braking system is also part of the plan and is divided into two phases. First, a car must be able to brake hard if slow-moving or stationary traffic looms in front of the car. Two years later, the cars should also be able to recognize and respond to vulnerable road users.

The lane and emergency braking systems must be able to be switched off by the driver, but only when the car is stationary with the handbrake activated. The user also has to perform a ‘complex chain of actions’ for this. If the car is restarted later, the systems must be reactivated.

A drowsiness and attention detection system should be able to recognize whether the driver remains alert and issue warnings if not. An advanced distraction system should detect whether the user is keeping their eyes on the road and paying attention to the traffic situation. There will also be a system that will inform the driver about what is behind the car via cameras, among other things.

With all these systems, the parliamentarians hope that the number of road deaths will decrease significantly. The commission says that these advanced safety systems are increasingly handing over control to the car. Because the systems will soon become mandatory, motorists will be able to get used to the systems, according to the committee. Such techniques are sometimes already available, whether or not as an option, for current car models.

On the basis of the European Commission’s previous proposal, the parliamentarians of the Internal Market Committee have made some changes. The European Commission’s proposal was based on the implementation of data recorders in cars and vans only. The parliamentary committee has extended this to all types of vehicles. These recorders collect data that can be used for the handling of an accident. The committee has also adapted the proposal to a closed loop system whereby the stored data is overwritten, so that it is ‘not possible to identify the vehicle or driver’. The collected data is anonymized.

In the parliamentary committee, 33 members voted in favor of the proposal for the regulation, with two abstentions and two against. The final mandate to start negotiations with the European Council is expected in March. The final text will be drawn up on the basis of those negotiations, in which the European Commission is also involved. This is a regulation with which the rules come into effect immediately in all EU member states. Most safety measures apply to new types of vehicles from the date of implementation of the regulation ‘and for all newly produced vehicles 24 months after this date’.

A few years ago, the then British traffic minister turned against the plans at the time. Then there was talk of a speed limiter that automatically brakes the car if it goes too fast. Minister Patrick McLoughlin had privacy concerns and also felt that in certain traffic situations it would be life-saving to be able to speed temporarily. The committee’s current plan does not mention an automatic speed braking system.