If blame need be assigned, look to Volvo.
The European Union has proposed that in about three years time, all new cars sold must come with autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning, driver-drowsiness monitoring and a gamut of other active safety technology in a bid to increase road safety and minimise fatalities.
The European Commission has already approved the legislation after it was proposed last year, and provisionally-approved last month. The measures are still subject to formal approval by the European Parliament, as well as EU member states later this year. It’ll affect all brand-new cars coming May 2022, and for models introduced prior to that, they’ll have until May 2024 to integrate them.
The full list of driver assistance & safety features required by then are:
- Advanced AEB
- Lane departure warning
- Road-sign recognition (speed limit & warning)
- Alcohol interlock installation facilitation (built-in breathalyser)
- Driver drowsiness & attention monitoring
- Advanced driver distraction warning
- Reverse cameras
- Accident data recorder
- Emergency stop signal
"There have only been a handful of moments in the last 50-years that could be described as big leaps forward for road-safety in Europe. The mandatory introduction of the seatbelt was one, and the first EU minimum crash safety standards, agreed in 1998, was another. If this agreement is given the formal green light, it will represent another of those moments.” – Antonio Avenoso, Executive Director, European Transport Safety Council
These changes come following Volvo’s announcement that by 2020, all of its models would be reigned in by a 180km/h speed limit, and they’ll move to integrate driver-monitoring cameras in the very near future to effectively combat intoxicated and distracted driving.
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