Road safety – time for Europe to shift gears

In 2013, 4,000 people died on our roads. Since then until today fatality numbers have remained stable. For already several years the European Commission has promised to come up with a revision of the General Safety Regulation (GSR) which is completely outdated but so far nothing is on the table. Standards set in the GSR would apply to all new vehicles produced and sold in the EU. The GSR is therefore a key instrument to drive vehicle safety developments and accelerate market uptake of and investment in new lifesaving designs and technologies.

A report outlining its plans is expected in autumn 2016 and a legislative proposal will come before the summer 2017. Since the last GSR review in 2009 multiple new safety technologies have emerged or matured. In this position paper we list the safety technologies that the Commission should prioritise in its new vehicle safety law.