Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2003)67 - Protection of pedestrians and other vulnerable road users in the event of a collision with a motor vehicle

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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.

1. Objective of the proposal

As many as 8,000 pedestrians and cyclists are killed and a further 300,000 injured in the Community each year in road accidents. This proposal aims to reduce deaths and injuries that occur in accidents involving pedestrians through changes to the front of vehicles. The proposal lays down requirements for the construction of motor vehicles in order to improve the protection of pedestrians and other road users by mitigating the severity of injuries in the event of a collision with a motor vehicle. The frontal parts of motor vehicles will have to be constructed in such a way that, when impacted, certain limit values are not exceeded.

The proposed measures apply to passenger cars and light vans. As the construction of passenger cars is covered by Community legislation under the EC whole vehicle type-approval system set up by Directive 70/156/EEC, as amended, the proposed requirements will also be incorporated into this system.

2. Legal basis

This proposal lays down harmonised technical requirements for the type-approval of motor vehicles with regard to pedestrian protection. Harmonised rules are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of the Internal Market in this area. Therefore this proposal is based on Article 95 of the Treaty establishing the European Community.

3. Regulatory approach

During 2001 the Commission successfully concluded negotiations with the associations representing the European, Japanese and Korean automobile manufacturers (ACEA, JAMA and KAMA), concerning a commitment by the industry to introduce measures to increase pedestrian protection. Also US vehicles sold in the Community are covered by the ACEA commitment. The industry commitment was presented by the Commission by means of a Communication to the Council and the European Parliament on 11 July 2001 for their opinion  i.

The Commission deferred the final decision on whether to acknowledge the industry commitment or to propose legislation based on the contents of the commitment until the European Parliament and Council had expressed their views.

Following the results of the consultation of the European Parliament  i and the Council  i the Commission decided in June 2002 that legislation should be proposed, which establishes the major aims and the fundamental technical provisions to be fulfilled.

Consequently, this proposal lays down the basic requirements to be fulfilled in the design of the frontal structures of motor vehicles with regard to pedestrian protection. They will apply to all new cars and light vans placed on the market within the Community. The requirements, which are based on the industry commitment, are provided in the form of various tests and limit values, described in Annex I.

The proposal gives a formal framework to the relevant parts of the commitment undertaken by the industry, thereby ensuring legal certainty concerning the implementation of measures to increase the protection of pedestrians in case of accidents with cars. Furthermore, the proposed Directive will also mean that the requirements will be part of the EC type-approval system, hence involving Member States authorities in the application of the legal provisions. Both the Council and the European Parliament have stated that they would prefer to have the type-approval authorities involved in the application of the required measures.

The proposed basic requirements will be tested according to detailed prescriptions which will be set out in a Commission decision. With this approach, the Directive will not have to be encumbered with elaborated technical details.

4. Contents of the proposal

Road accident statistics indicate that a significant proportion of casualties involve pedestrians and cyclists who are injured as a result of contact with a moving vehicle, notably with the frontal structures of passenger cars. Most accidents take place in urban areas where serious or fatal injuries can be sustained at relatively low speeds, particularly in the case of children.

Nevertheless, there is scope to mitigate the severity of injuries to pedestrians by improving the frontal structures of motor vehicles. Above a certain speed the scope to reduce such injuries is limited but, at speeds below approximately 40 km/h, the possibility exists to reduce significantly the levels of injury sustained by pedestrians involved in frontal impacts with passenger cars and light vans.

The prescriptions in this proposal are based on scientific work performed by Working Group 17 of the European Enhanced Vehicle-safety Committee (EEVC) and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission.

In order to comply with the proposed limit values, motor vehicles (passenger cars and light vans) will have to pass a number of tests. In a first phase, starting in 2005, new types of vehicles must comply with two tests concerning protection against head injuries and leg injuries. In a second phase, starting in 2010, four tests of increased severity will be required for new types of vehicles, two tests concerning head injuries and two concerning leg injuries. Within five years all new vehicles will have to comply with these test requirements.

The Commission is aware of the fact that few, if any, current vehicle designs are capable of meeting all of the proposed technical provisions. Therefore, it was thought that an appropriate lead-time should be allowed before the proposed measures should be applied to new vehicle types and, later, to all new vehicles.

Clearly the maximum benefit from making vehicles pedestrian friendly would occur if all types of vehicles comply with these technical provisions but it is recognised that their application to heavier vehicles (trucks and buses) would be of limited value and may not be technically appropriate in their present form. For this reason the scope of application has been limited to passenger cars and car-derived vans up to 2.5 tonnes. Since these vehicle categories represent the vast majority of vehicles currently in use, the proposed measures will have the widest practicable effect in reducing pedestrian injuries.

Although compliance with these technical provisions will necessitate substantial changes in vehicle design, the provided lead-time and the introduction in two phases means that these can be made during the development of new vehicles rather than introducing costly changes to vehicles already in production.

Considering the speed of technological development in this area, this proposal foresees that alternative measures to the requirements laid down in the proposal might be developed. A feasibility assessment will therefore be carried out by 1 July 2004 concerning the proposed technical test provisions and in particular other measures which potentially may have at least equal protective effects to those proposed. Should the feasibility assessment show that these alternative measures have at least equal protective effects the Commission shall consider relevant proposals to amend this Directive.

In their commitments, in addition to the introduction of measures to improve the design of car fronts, the motor vehicle manufacturer associations have also undertaken to introduce the following additional active and passive safety measures conducive to improved protection of pedestrian and other road users:

- To equip all new motor vehicles with anti-lock braking systems (ABS) from 1st July 2004;

- To gradually introduce information and communication technology (ICT) elements to improve active safety;

- To equip all new motor vehicles with Daytime Running Lights (DRL) as from 1 October 2003;

- Not to install rigid bull-bars as original equipment on new motor vehicles, nor to sell them as spare parts.

Concerning the introduction of DRL, as a result of the consultation of the Council and the European Parliament, and in view of the differing national laws on the use of DRL at present, the Commission has decided not to recommend its introduction by industry until a harmonised approach is reached at Community level with regard to its use.

Concerning the withdrawal of rigid bull bars, following the views expressed by the Council and the European Parliament, suggesting that a legislative approach would cover not only the original equipment manufacturers but also the independent after-market, the Commission intends to propose a Directive containing a test procedure for all bull-bars and similar devices placed on the market.

The additional measures (including ABS and ICT elements) are being implemented and are monitored separately.