A year after the adoption of the General and Pedestrian Safety Regulations (GSR) in the European Union, the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) has today published a Briefing- Still-unvaccinated-GSR-one-year-on-2023 - calling on the government to align UK's vehicle safety standards with these ground-breaking measures.[1] The road safety performance of the UK has stagnated since 2010, and the UK’s progress in reducing fatalities on roads is now among the lowest in Europe.
Supported by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Transport Safety, PACTS underscores the need for immediate action. The GSR measures have been lauded by PACTS as the "vaccine for vehicles", and their implementation in the UK is overdue. The integrated package of 15 GSR measures, including enhanced direct vision in HGVs, automated emergency braking systems, and intelligent speed assistance, was enacted in the EU in July 2022. The UK had played an active part in developing these measures up to the point of its exit from the EU. The time to adopt similar regulations in the UK is now.
Endorsing these measures will not only secure the welfare of UK road users but also bolster the UK automotive sector, which exports most new cars to the EU, where these standards are now mandatory. The GSR technologies are crucial for the advancement of connected and autonomous vehicles and come at minimal cost to the taxpayer or consumer. There is evidence that vehicle owners purchasing new EU-compliant models in Great Britain are having to pay additional costs to access the fitted-as-standard safety features.
Despite the UK government consulting on new vehicle regulations in November 2021 - The Future of Transport Regulatory Review - there's an urgent need to act and reassert the country’s leadership in transport safety.
Jamie Hassall, PACTS Executive Director, stated, The UK played a key role in the development of these vehicle safety measures but has now been left behind by not adopting them or indeed increasing the requirements. This means it will take longer for these features to appear in our fleets and help reduce the number of deaths on our roads. It appears that the UK market is being asked to pay more to have these life saving features activated while these are free in Europe. The adoption of the GSR measures could kickstart a new era of road safety in the UK, at virtually no cost to the government or motorists. The benefits of these measures play a key role in reducing the harm caused to pedestrians and other vulnerable road users. The true cost of their delayed introduction and leaving them as an optional paid-for measure has a knock-on effect: otherwise preventable collisions will persist and more lives be lost.
The Government published The Road Safety Statement 2019 A Lifetime of Road Safety that covers ‘Safe Vehicles’ so needs to act to deliver this. These measures are also key to the safe introduction of Autonomous Vehicles.
We echo the calls from the APPGs for Transport Safety, for the government to at least match the standards that now apply in the European Union. The UK should utilise its newfound independence to implement these life-saving measures more swiftly and comprehensively."
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