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6thDecember2017To:PresidentoftheEuropeanCommission,MrJeanClaudeJunckerCc:FirstVice-PresidentoftheEuropeanCommission,FransTimmermansVice-PresidentsMarošŠefčovič,JyrkiKatainenCommissionersElżbietaBieńkowska,VioletaBulc
KarimaDelli,ChairoftheTransportCommitteeoftheEuropeanParliamentJerzyBuzek,Chairof theCommitteeon Industry,ResearchandEnergyCommitteeof theEuropeanParliamentReviewoftheGeneralSafetyandPedestrianProtectionRegulation–CityLetterontrucksafetyTheEuropeanCommissionwillsoonupdatetheGeneralSafetyandPedestrianSafetyRegulationsthatsetEurope’svehiclesafetystandards.Wearewritingtoyoutourgeyoutomakeroadsafetyatoppriorityandtocomeforwardwithambitiousnewvehiclestandardsbytheendof2017–ashasalsobeenrequestedbyeightMemberStatesinajointletterearlierthisyear.
Thecitiesthatsignthis letterareallengaged inefforts topromotewalkingandcycling.Wedothisbecausewestrivetomakeourcitiesmoreliveablebutalsotoimprovepublichealthandprotecttheenvironment.Avitalpartofthiseffortistoensurethesafetyofourcitizens-andtheirchildren–intraffic.We are improving roads, reducingvehicle speeds and investing heavily in traffic education.However,oureffortscannotbesuccessfulifwedonotalsoimproveinparallelthesafetyofthecars,vansandtrucks.
When it comes to safety standards for vehicles, the EU has great power. It has the exclusivecompetencetomandatesafetyimprovementsfornewcars,vansand trucksandhasdonesosuccessfully in thepast – the lastnewsafety requirementsdateback to2009.There remainshugepotentialforimprovement.Yourownstudiesshowthatadvancedemergencybraking(AEB),intelligentspeedadaptation(ISA)anddirectvisionstandardsfortruckscouldsavethousandsoflivesatlimitedcost. Indeed, these technologies are already commercially available, but are usually optional and
thereforeexpensive.Mandatingimprovedsafetyforallnewvehicles–i.e.atthestageofproduction-wouldincreasesalesvolumesandgreatlyreducecosts,makingsafervehiclesaccessibletoall.
Oneareaofparticularconcernistrucksafety.Amodernandvibrantcitycannotdowithouttrucks–they’reneeded,forexample,tosupplyretailersandforconstructionprojects.Buttoday’strucksarevery ill-designedforurbanenvironments.Theyhavepoordirectvisionandthereforehugeanddeadlyblindspots.Ifcrashesoccur they are usually fatal. Fortunately, there are solutions:manyEuropeanmanufacturersalreadysupplylowentrycabintrucksthathaveexcellentdirectvision.Manycitiesareencouragingtheirusethroughpublicprocurementorasparto f tenders.Othersareintroducingrulesthatbansomeofthemostdangeroustrucks.But local initiatives lack thescaletohaveasignificantimpactontheavailabilityandcostofsafertrucks.Moreover,thereisariskthatcitiesacrossEuropewilladoptdifferentschemes,potentiallyimposingcostsonhauliersandtheircustomerswhichcouldbeavoidedifbasicvehicledesignprioritisedsafety.ThisiswhyweurgeyoutointroduceaEuropeandirectvisionstandardthatwouldmakesaferdesignscompulsory, at least for trucks most commonly used in urban areas, and ambitious direct visionrequirementsforothertypes.Withappropriatedifferentiationbetweentrucktypesand,ifnecessary,aphase-inperiod,webelievemandatoryrequirementscanberealisticallyintroducedfromtheearly2020s.
Roadsafety isa toppriority forourcitizensandso itshouldbe for theEuropeanCommission.TheEuropean Commission’s review of the General Safety (EC/661/2009) and Pedestrian Safety(EC/78/2009)Regulationsislongoverdue.Wethereforeaskyoutospeedupthereviewprocessandmakeaproposalfornewandambitioussafetyrules,inparticularmandatingstandardsfordirectvision,bytheendof2017.ThiswillgiveusawelcomeopportunitytosupporttheCommission’sworkandpointoutthebenefitsofEUactiontoourcitizens.
Presscontacts:
Aarhus:PabloCelis([email protected])Amsterdam:NancyvanderBol([email protected])Barcelona:[email protected] Berlin:JuliusMenge([email protected])Bologna:DoraRamazzotti([email protected])Brussels:MathiasDobbels([email protected])Communautéd'AgglomérationdeLaRochelle:MatthieuGraindorge([email protected])Copenhagen:SorenTroelsBerg([email protected])Dublin:AineCronin([email protected])Groningen:JaapValkema([email protected])London:IanCatlow([email protected])Münster:[email protected]:[email protected]:DagmarKöhler([email protected])Poznan:WojciechMakowski([email protected])Rotterdam:RichardvanderWulp([email protected])Sofia:TsvetanTsolov([email protected])Trnava:KristinaMarosova([email protected])Vienna:AndreasBauer([email protected])
