Future of transport regulatory review: modernising vehicle standards”

24 November 2021

UK Department for Transport is consulting on the “ Future of transport regulatory review: modernising vehicle standards”.

PACTS has urged the UK government to adopt new vehicle safety standards, for HGVs, vans and cars, which would avoid thousand of deaths and serious injuries in the UK . The new standards particularly target safety for vulnerable road users. They would come at minimal cost to the public purse or to the consumer and take effect from 2022 onwards.

Key features are improved direct vision in HGVs, autonomous emergency braking that also detects pedestrians and cyclists, intelligent speed adaptation and event data recorders (black boxes) to record collision details.

Adopting this package of measures will also benefit the UK automotive sector which exports the majority of new cars to the EU where these standards (the revised General Safety and Pedestrian Regulations) will be mandatory from 2022 onwards. The Regulations were supported by the UK government right up to the point of leaving the EU. They apply already to vehicles produced in Northern Ireland.