Enforcement of Vehicle Safety Legislations to Significantly Reduce Road Accident Fatalities and Injuries

London, U.K. - 29 March, 2006 - Rising fatalities and injuries caused by road accidents are evoking concern among member states of the European Union (EU). This has resulted in increased efforts by the European Commission (EC), to introduce and implement various road safety regulations and legislations.

“The automotive industry, EC, national legislative bodies, non-governmental organisations and deterrence agencies are pursuing the improvement of road safety through effective legislation enforcement, greater awareness through education as well as random inspection of a vehicle’s roadworthiness”, notes Frost & Sullivan (http://www.transportation.frost.com) Research Analyst Vinay Joshi.

However, legislative effectiveness will depend largely on the introduction of technologically advanced and robust, active as well as passive safety systems by vehicle manufacturers and suppliers.

Presently, effective and consistent enforcement of legislation remains the biggest challenge for the EC and national legislative bodies. For instance, wide discrepancies in the speed limits across different European countries have rendered it difficult to ensure consistency in the enforcement of legislations. Hence, executing standard legislations across Europe will prove to be crucial to achieve effective compliance.

The EC, through active safety legislations, is striving to enhance vehicle stability through the introduction of the antilock braking system (ABS) and electronic stability control (ESC). In addition, systems such as intelligent speed adaptation (ISA) and alcohol ignition interlocks (ALCOLOCKS) are expected to further improve the enforcement on speed limits and blood alcohol content (BAC) levels. This will assist in reducing road traffic offences such as speeding and drunk driving.

Similarly, growing concern over spiralling pedestrian fatalities have resulted in the recent implementation of the pedestrian protection legislation and increased the focus on various legislations relating to passive safety systems. The EC is gradually set to expand its mandate to cover all aspects of passive safety such as whiplash protection, vehicle compatibility and occupant classification systems, while also laying special emphasis on frontal and side-impact technical requirements.

“At the same time, consumer information derived from the European new car assessment program (Euro NCAP) will help accelerate the development of car occupant safety and partner protection,” notes Mr. Joshi. “Besides providing customers of new cars with independent information on the safety performance of the car, the Euro NCAP also provides vehicle manufactures with the incentive to improve the vehicle’s safety performance. ”

Europe-wide installation of accident data recorders will also offer vehicle manufacturers an opportunity to study vehicle performance in real driving conditions, thereby allowing companies to test safety systems internally and avail the benefits of time and cost savings. Such data will assist vehicle manufacturers in developing more advanced and performance-oriented safety systems.

In future, the development of reliable and cost-effective safety systems will ensure their standardisation across vehicle segments and anticipated technological improvements are expected to support the effective implementation of legislations.

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end users, and other industry participants with an overview of the latest analysis of the European Vehicle Safety Legislation then send an e-mail to Magdalena Oberland, Corporate Communications at magdalena.oberland@frost.com with the following information: your full name, company name, title, telephone number, e-mail address, city, and country. We will send you the information through e-mail upon receipt of the above information.

Analysis of European Vehicle Safety Legislation is part of the Transportation Subscription, which provides an overview of the impact of technological developments on the enforcement of vehicle safety legislations. It also provides a description of the Euro NCAP testing protocols and an analysis of its evolution. This research service provides an analysis of various active and passive safety legislations, while also describing the different EU-level vehicle safety projects in Europe and the impact they will have on the reduction of road accident fatalities. All research included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends. This research service is evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants. Interviews are available to the press.

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Title: Analysis of European Vehicle Safety Legislation
Code: B661-18

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Magdalena Oberland

Corporate Communications - Europe

Frost & Sullivan

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