Activity

Safety

Copenhagen and Moscow, November 2009

Findings of new WHO study: 70% of deaths on European roads occur in poorer countries and 40% are among pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists. Read more

 

• Safety on the road is a shared, societal responsibility, involving all participants including road users, governments and vehicle manufacturers.
• The safety of all road users - car and truck drivers, passengers, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians - is a prime concern of European vehicle manufacturers. Thanks to constant improvements in vehicle safety, traffic causalities have been significantly reduced over the last three decades. Vehicle makers will continue contributing vigorously to the EU target of further halving road fatalities by 2010. It is clear though, that increasing vehicle safety is only one element of the integrated approach necessary to achieve further progress.
• Over the last 30 years, the number of traffic casualties has been cut by half, whilst the number of motor vehicles has risen three-fold.
•  In the 2006, the industry has, through ACEA, signed the European Road Safety Charter. In this important charter, the European automobile industry pledges to progressively continue to equip passenger cars and trucks with seatbelt warning system. As a result of this, an overwhelming majority of new vehicles will be fitted with this life - saving tool by 2010.
• Also the European manufacturers of coaches will progressively build coaches with electronically controlled stabilizing system.
• The European automobile industry spends some 20 billion euro a year on research and development and a large proportion of this investment is dedicated to developing enhanced passive and active safety technologies for new vehicles.
•  But even when the latest safety technology is available, consumers do not necessarily realize the benefits that such additional safety options can bring (...) price remains the most important factor in the purchase of a car. Additional electronic safety equipment often competes with comfort features for the consumer's limited budget.
• While much has been done to improve vehicle safety, more than 95% of all accidents involve human error. Inappropriate speed, driving under the influence of alcohol or medication and not wearing seat belts are major factors in accidents today.
•  Along with vehicle design, technology and driver behavior - road infrastructure is the other key-component of the integrated road safety. Investments in construction and maintenance of roads infrastructure are crucial. Source: ACEA
   

Emmissions Standards

•  The European automotive industry is committed to reducing pollutant elements from passenger cars and commercial vehicles and has actively participated in the deliberations with regulators over the next generation of "Euro" emissions standards.
• Euro 5and 6 standards for passenger cars were agreed by the end of 2006, and will come into force in 2009 and 2014, respectively.
• The Euro V emissions standards for heavy -duty commercial vehicles take effect in 2009, as well, while the Euro VI limit values for trucks are expected to be known by the end of 2007.
• European car manufacturers are in the process of incorporating diesel particulate filters across the range of diesel vehicles as required by Euro 5. They will also do their utmost to meet the strict limits regarding NOx emissions within the set time-frame.
• With Euro 5 and 6 coming into force, NOx levels for diesel cars will go down to 180 milligrammes per kilometer by 2009 and to 80 milligrammes by 2014, respectively.
• For gasoline cars, the NOx level will fall to 60 milligrammes in one step, by 2009.
   

 Biofuels

•  A biofuel is difficult to define. Most of the fossil fuels we use are biological in nature. Perhaps we have to say that a biofuel is one that does not add to the stock of total carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. These are plant forms that, typically, remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and give up the same amount when burnt. Naturally, all the other fossil fuels have done the same, but we are talking about a time scale of one or two years for the biofuels, whereas the fossil fuels can only be considered on a time scale measured in millions of years.
• The biofuels are therefore considered to be "CO2 neutral", not adding to the carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere. The type of biofuel used will depend on a number of factors, chief amongst them being the available feedstock and the energy that can be used locally.
• Biodiesel was probably the first of the alternative fuels to really become known to the public. The great advantage of biodiesel is that it can be used in existing vehicles with little or no adaptation necessary. Biodiesel is, naturally, a compromise for this reason, but still balances positively on the energy scales. There are energy plants available that will produce a higher yield in kWh per area, but the simplicity of having a fuel that is fully compatible with present fuel and engine technology makes it very attractive.
• Cars running on BioEthanol, which is produced from agricultural crops, sugar cane or bio-mass, are governed by the same law of physics as those using gasoline. That means both emit CO2, as an inevitable consequence of the combustion process. But there is a crucial difference: burning ethanol, in effect, recycles the CO2 because it has already been removed from the atmosphere by photosynthesis during the natural growth process. In contrast, the use of gasoline or diesel injects into the atmosphere additional new quantities of CO2 which have lain fixed underground in oil deposits for millions of years. Source: www.habmigern2003.info/biogas/biofuels.html
• The introduction of biofuels must be coordinated with manufacturers, in order to ensure that both old and new vehicles can use these fuels electively. Vehicle manufacturers have to be able to design-in-compatibility of new vehicles with biofuels which otherwise may pose a problem for engine components as well as particulate filters.
• The swapping of today's fuel by tomorrows biofuel at the filling station must be avoided and new fuel need to be distributed separately and clearly labeled at filling stations to avoid confusion amongst consumers and damage to the existing car fleet. Coordination on the international level with the aim of achieving common worldwide standards is also essential.

 CO2 Emissions

• The European automobile manufacturers support the EU objective of further reducing average car emissions to 120 grammes CO2 per kilometer by 2012.
• CO2 is a naturally occurring gas present in the earth's atmosphere. CO2 is also a result of the burning of fossil fuels in industrial processes, energy plants, households and in combustion engines such as those presently used in cars.
• In Europe, passenger cars contribute to 12% of man-made CO2, according to figures from European Commission regarding the EU-25. The share of transport is 26%, of energy plants - 39%, of industry - 16% and of households - 19%. On a global scale, passenger cars are responsible for 5% of CO2 emissions. Within that share, the European passenger car fleet accounts for 2%.

Recycling of vehicles, a complex challenge

• Some 8 million vehicles are recycled annually in the EU-15 countries. The actual waste from those "end-of-life vehicles" (ELV) accounts only for about 1% of total waste across the EU Member States. This is due to the fact that parts are reused and a high content of the materials is recycled or recovered.
• Car recycling was introduced in the late 1950s and is a profitable business carried out by small and medium sized businesses all over Europe. The ELV directive 2000/53/EC published in 2000 defined new standards for recycling and product design. The automotive industry fully supports the idea of sustainable utilisation of end-of-life vehicles. However, due to the variety of materials and substances used in modern vehicles, recycling has become a major challenge.
• In Poland, the obligation of the end-of-life vehicles is executed by the the Act of 20th January 2005 on Recycling End-of-Life Vehicles (Journal of Laws No 25, item 202, as amended).

 Cars 21 Competitive Automotive Regulatory System for the 21 st Century

• On 13 January 2005, Commission Vice-President, Guenter Verheugen launched a High-level Group on the competitiveness of the automotive industry in the 21st century, called CARS 21.
•  The aim of CARS 21 was to make recommendations on the regulatory framework of the European automotive industry "enhancing global compositeness and employment while sustaining further progress in safety and environmental performance at price affordable for the consumer.
• The automotive sector is key for sustaining and improving the economic strength of the European Union ensuring future prosperity of its citizens.