SSince July 6, new assistance systems, which previously extended manufacturers’ options lists, have become mandatory equipment for new vehicles. Initially, the regulation only affects models that are new to the market and require type approval. Between July 2024 and early 2029, assistants will then become mandatory for all first-registered vehicles.
The most notable newcomers include an emergency braking system, lane departure warning and a system that warns the driver when the speed limit is reached. The latter has the highest nerve potential. The “intelligent speed assistant” must be designed in such a way that the driver can ignore the warning at any time. However, the experience of the editors in the test operation shows that the intelligence is not all that far off, regardless of whether it is based on traffic sign recognition by camera or digital maps.
The mandatory emergency braking system should ensure fewer regular discussions. In the first stage from July, it must detect an obstacle in front of your car or a vehicle driving slowly ahead, and from mid-2024 pedestrians and cyclists should also be automatically braked. The technical design must be such that a stationary obstacle is hit at a maximum speed of 60 km/h with a maximum of 35 km/h. The system is always combined with a collision warning, which must be issued 0.8 seconds before emergency braking begins. Here, too, the driver can override the brakes, for example to accelerate and avoid an obstacle. At the same time, an emergency brake light will be mandatory, a light system made up of brake lights and indicators that the manufacturer can design freely. It is active at all speeds, while the emergency brake assistant stops working at speeds in excess of 60 km/h.
Code name “event-related data storage”
We are used to the car warning us of apparent tiredness or of people standing behind the vehicle when reversing, but this kind of thing will be mandatory in the future. We are much more bothered by the fact that every new vehicle is to be equipped with an accident data memory that cannot be deactivated under the code name “event-related data storage”. According to the directive, the collected data may only be used for accident research and for the type approval of technical systems or vehicles. The directive also stipulates that the last four digits of the chassis number and all other information that allows conclusions to be drawn about an individual vehicle or its driver are not to be stored.
A classic cost-benefit analysis is out of the question where human lives are at stake, especially since the benefits are difficult to quantify. In 2021, 19,800 people died on the roads in Europe. It is not possible to make a valid estimate of how much this number will fall as a result of the technical upgrade. The necessary additional costs cannot be specified clearly either. Because the amount of additional hardware required for the new assistants seems manageable. It is mainly small cars that have not yet had cameras and radar sensors. Once they are on board, the main effort is in developing reliably functioning software.