The government has confirmed plans to require 18 vehicle safety technologies as part of Great Britain type approval for mass-produced vehicles, following a public consultation.
The package includes a range of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), such as advanced distraction warnings, blind spot information, drowsiness and attention monitoring, autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, emergency lane keeping, emergency stop signalling, intelligent speed assistance, moving-off information, rear movement awareness and tyre pressure monitoring.
Additional measures include a direct vision standard, event data recorders, and updated crash test requirements covering frontal full-width and offset impacts, pole side impacts and pedestrian windscreen impacts.
According to the Government, all 18 technologies received majority backing from consultation respondents, although intelligent speed assistance and emergency lane keeping attracted lower levels of support than the other proposals.
The consultation also considered requiring vehicles to be designed with alcohol interlock (alcolock) interface facilitation, making it easier to fit alcohol-testing devices. However, the government concluded there was majority support for delaying this requirement, so it will not be introduced at this stage.
The implementation timetable has also been revised. Once the legislation is approved, new vehicle types will have a 12-month lead-in period before the rules apply, rather than the six months originally proposed.
For new GB vehicle registrations, manufacturers will have 24 months to comply with most of the new requirements. Direct vision standards and event data recorders will have a 36-month implementation period. Vehicles undergoing multi-stage manufacturing will receive an additional 12 months to comply.
Introducing the measures will align Great Britain's vehicle standards more closely with those already in force in the European Union.
The government says the new requirements will improve road safety, bring vehicle standards in Great Britain closer to those in Northern Ireland, reduce trade barriers with the EU, and support economic growth by strengthening the UK's automotive industry.
RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said: “Given the Government has also consulted on introducing an alcohol interlocks (‘alcolocks’) programme for drink-drivers as part of its consultation on the road safety strategy, it’s disappointing it's decided that alcolock interfaces shouldn’t have to be fitted to vehicles as standard. It feels like an opportunity missed as it would have made it easier to fit alcolocks to the vehicles of repeat offenders in future.
“Nonetheless, just as many safety technologies like Intelligent Speed Assistance are already fitted to vehicles sold in the UK, it’s likely many future vehicles sold here will include alcolock interfaces anyway. This is because manufacturers often sell the same models both in the UK and in the EU, where alcolock interfaces are mandatory, to keep production costs down.
“This is not about alcolocks being fitted to all vehicles, it's about making it easier to get these devices put in the vehicles of repeat drink-drive offenders so they can't get behind the wheel drunk again. RAC research shows there is strong support among drivers for alcolocks being used in this way."
