Brussels, 11th February 2004

Road safety: Commission welcomes new rules to eliminate 'blind spot' on motor vehicles

The Commission welcomes the adoption by the European Parliament and Council of a new directive on rear view mirrors and supplementary indirect vision systems for motor vehicles(1). This directive will improve road user safety by upgrading the performance of rear view mirrors and accelerating the introduction of new technologies that increase the field of indirect vision for drivers of passenger cars, buses and lorries. As many severe road accidents at crossings, junctions or roundabouts are caused by vehicle drivers who are unaware that other road users are very close to, or beside, their vehicles, the measures are designed to reduce blind spots in the immediate area around vehicles. The first effects of these new rules should start to be seen on new models from 2005 onwards with a gradual phasing in of obligations up to the end of the decade.

Erkki Liikanen, Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner, said: "As drivers, we are all responsible for improving road safety. However legislation can also help save lives. While local and national governments play an important role, only a Europe-wide solution can complement these efforts by mandating common EU standards in car design."

"Blind spot" accidents often happen when vehicles are changing direction at crossings, junctions or roundabouts. When larger vehicles such as trucks or buses are involved, these accidents frequently lead to serious injuries or even fatalities of vulnerable road users like pedestrians, cyclists or drivers of smaller motorcycles.

The new directive, based on studies and research that the Commission has discussed with Member States, industry and other interested parties, adds specific blind spot reduction requirements to the existing Directive on rear-view mirrors (see IP/02/36), as last amended in 1988. The key changes would entail:

• Increasing the mandatory minimum field of vision for certain vehicles;
• Mounting additional mirrors on certain vehicles (front mirrors on trucks, exterior rear view mirrors on the passenger's side of cars);
• Upgrading technical characteristics of mirrors (e.g. curvature of the surface), in line with technical progress;
• Replacing certain mirrors with other indirect vision systems, such as camera/monitor systems.

The Commission has received expressions of support from Member States, Members of the European Parliament and from consumer groups.

For further information, please see:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/automotive/index.htm

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