Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-06-13-Speech-4-025"
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"en.20020613.1.4-025"2
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". – Mr President, as mentioned here by many speakers, with 9 000 pedestrians and cyclists killed and a further 200 000 injured in accidents involving a car, pedestrian protection has become a pressing concern for civil society, which the Commission fully shares. When considering which approach to take to this issue, the choice has been between a voluntary commitment from industry on the basis of agreed objectives and the traditional route of legislation.
Firstly, the Commission welcomes the support expressed by the Transport Committee for the objectives and timeframe proposed in the Commission communication for the introduction of pedestrian protection measures.
Secondly, the Commission welcomes the views expressed in the report regarding the legislative approach, suggesting the use of framework legislation in this area to ensure legal certainty on the fundamental goals.
It has been asked what the Commission will do if the report is accepted. If a majority of the European Parliament agrees to this approach, the Commission is willing to put forward a proposal for framework legislation, based on the relevant measures of the commitment. I believe that we can do this by the end of the year, this coming autumn.
After talks with the European Commission, European motor vehicle manufacturers, represented by ACEA, committed themselves in June last year to introducing a range of measures starting this year, actually in January 2002, leading to a high level of pedestrian protection. Identical commitments have been entered into since then by the Japanese and Korean automobile manufacturers.
In a communication adopted in July last year, the Commission presented to the European Parliament and the Council the main elements of the industry’s commitment and invited both institutions to express their views on it. The Commission would decide thereafter whether to accept the industry commitment or to propose legislation.
The commitment constitutes an innovative package that combines passive and active safety. On the passive safety side, manufacturers have agreed to design cars according to a series of tests introduced in two phases, starting in 2005, aimed at verifying that the car design will minimise injuries to pedestrians involved in an accident. Another important passive safety element of the commitment is the ban of rigid bullbars from new cars as from this year.
Regarding active safety, industry has taken three additional initiatives: firstly, to equip new vehicles with ABS from 2003 onwards, secondly, to introduce daytime running lights on all vehicles from 2002 (it should be noted that this refers only to the technical prescription of DRL, but it does not supersede national laws on the use of DRL), and, last but not least, industry is committed to progress and report systematically on the introduction of additional active safety devices to improve pedestrian protection, such as adaptive speed limiting devices.
The Commission would monitor the implementation of the commitment, on the basis of tests conducted by independent laboratories and possibly with the involvement of national type-approval authorities.
Since then, an intensive debate has taken place in the European Parliament and the Council in the past few months on the options presented by the Commission in its communication.
Last November the Council of Ministers approved the idea of an industry commitment in this area and its fundamental elements, subject to certain conditions on particular points.
Now it is the turn of the European Parliament to express its views. I am grateful to the Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism and in particular to the rapporteur, Mrs Hedkvist Petersen, for her impressive work, and also to Mrs Oomen-Ruijten, Mr Harbour and Mr Rübig for their opinions. I appreciate the efforts invested in this matter, which have shown exceptional commitment, professionalism and openmindedness. The aim has been to seek a balance between a high level of protection, flexibility and efficiency in law-making on the one hand, and the preservation of legal certainty and transparency on the other."@en1
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