Towards compulsory driver-assistance systems
On the 14th of November 2017, the Members of the European Parliament adopted a resolution asking new cars to be equipped with driver-assistance systems capable of detecting pedestrians, braking automatically or adapting the speed.
Many of the 25.000 yearly road fatalities could be avoided by using new technological systems to assist drivers in dangerous situations. Today they are the preserve of relatively few higher-end models, but given their obvious benefits MEPs want to make these systems compulsory on all new cars.
These systems vary from automatic braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection and intelligent speed assistants They can also automatically slow down a car to avoid a collision and assist drivers to remain within speed limits. There are also systems that start beeping wildly or even steer a car back when you drift out of the lane.
While these and other driver-assist systems used to be standard on only high-end cars, they can now increasingly be found across all classes. However, three quarters of new cars are still not equipped with any of those, mainly because of the extra cost.
To reduce costs, the draft resolution suggests only making features compulsory that are already available on the market and have proved their ability to save lives, such as automatic emergency breaking systems with pedestrian and cyclist detection.
Source: European Parliament
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In: Active safety, Connectivity & Automation, Safety