Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2001-09-04-Speech-2-243"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20010904.9.2-243"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:translated text |
".
Mr President, the Commission is aware of the matters for concern which have been raised by the honourable Member. In order to discuss these questions the Commission issued a communication, on 11 July 2001 on the protection of pedestrians. It is important to remember the significance of this topic. Each year, 9 000 pedestrians and cyclists are killed, and 200 000 are injured, in accidents involving a motor vehicle.
The European motor industry has now, after discussions held with the Commission, made a commitment to incorporate a raft of safety features from 2002 onwards. These aim at improving pedestrian safety in accident situations. As to how regulation is to be implemented, there is a choice between, on the one hand, a voluntary agreement of the industry based on agreed objectives and, on the other hand, the conventional legislative route. In July, the Commission found that the content of the industry's commitment matched the objectives set by the Commission. The final decision on whether the safety standards will be implemented by a commitment – which will be closely monitored – or by legislation, will be made by the end of the year. According to the agreement, the car manufacturers promise to ensure that all new passenger cars will go through a series of tests with the purpose of ensuring that the cars are designed in such a way that pedestrians and cyclists who are involved in an accident will suffer as little injury as possible.
The discussions which have taken place with the Association of European Car Manufacturers on the commitment of the industry have been based on the following objectives: first of all, attaining the objectives proposed by the EEVC committee which deals with the improvement of European vehicle safety; secondly, implementing measures to improve the safety of pedestrians in the short and medium term; thirdly, adopting new and improved technology which will effectively improve the safety of pedestrians; and fourthly, finding an innovative solution in which passive and active safety features will be combined. The objective of the commitment is a reduction in the number of fatalities and also a reduction in the number and seriousness of injuries. It is estimated that the annual number of deaths would be cut by two thousand if all motor vehicles on the roads of the European Union met the requirements of the EEVC tests. This reduction would represent 20 percent of the present level. Thanks to new technology, deaths could be reduced even further.
If the Commission decides to propose legislation, this would be based on the content of the commitment. The industry is making a commitment that as from 1 July 2005 all new types of vehicles will meet requirements which relate to the first series of passive measures recommended by the joint (that is, the Commission's joint) research centre. The improvements will be added to the existing models in stages, with the result that these will be included in the features of all new vehicles by 2012. In the next stage, the manufacturers will commit to installing other safety equipment. This means that from 2010 onwards the objectives set by EEVC will finally be attained, either in accordance with EEVC's technical proposals or by other measures which will have an impact on safety at least equal to this. As one example we can mention that from the beginning of next year all new cars will be fitted with day running lights, and inflexible "bull bars" will be banned. From 2003 onwards, all new vehicles would be fitted with anti-blocking brakes. The Japanese car manufacturers, who are represented by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association JAMA, expressed their official approval of the matter by making an identical commitment in July. The ASCEA and JAMA commitments cover over 95 percent of the market for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in the EU. Negotiations concerning similar commitments are underway with the South Korean car manufacturers, which would lead to almost one hundred percent coverage. As the honourable Member is aware, the Commission has sent the commitment which was approved in July to the European Parliament and Council for comment."@en1
|
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples