The European Union’s New Vehicle General Safety Regulation (GSR2) comes into effect on 7 July, making a number of ADAS features mandatory in vehicles.
These include Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA), Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Driver Drowsiness and Attention Warning (DDAW), and Emergency Lane Keeping Systems (ELKS).
The UK has not yet signed up to GSR2, although Northern Ireland will adopts its protocols, with some fearing this could see the UK falling behind Europe when it comes to vehicle safety standards.
Yousif Al Ani, Principal Engineer – ADAS, at Thatcham Research, said: “Crash avoidance is the future of automotive safety. KSI (killed or seriously injured) statistics amongst vulnerable road users remain stubbornly high at more than 11,000 each year. The key to reducing these numbers is through the wider introduction of active crash avoidance systems.
“The UK is yet to sign up to GSR2. The technology mandated by this directive is already found in most new cars and the UK could be at risk of falling behind in automotive safety by not adopting it.
GSR2 was first applied in July 2022, with Phase One mandating additional technical requirements on new vehicle models.
Phase Two stipulated ADAS features in new vehicles from July 2022 and existing vehicles from July 2024, with Phase Three mandating an increase in scope to include Advanced Driver Distraction Warning (ADDW) and additional pedestrian and cyclist AEB.
