‘Anti-tailgating’ devices to be built into most new cars from next month
EU passes ‘Dev’s Law’ and makes automatic braking systems obligatory, in move that will affect UK vehicles
‘Car makers will fit this technology in Britain because of the benefits it brings and they don’t want to be seen as unsafe’
SAFETY technology that automatically slows down or stops a vehicle if its driver fails to respond to the threat of a collision will be installed in the majority of cars from next month following an EU ruling, says the AA.
Automatic emergency braking will become compulsory by law for all new cars across mainland Europe and Northern Ireland from July 6.
The Government has yet to decide whether to require automatic emergency braking by law, despite research showing that it could prevent 12,300 casualties and 110 deaths.
But Edmund King, president of the AA, said manufacturers were likely to press ahead regardless, as it made no economic sense to make separate cars for the UK.
Only 12 to 15 per cent of cars are currently fitted with the technology, which uses radar to detect hazards, and acts if a driver does not respond to an alarm. But Mr King said: “Most cars are global, so if it is required in the bulk of Europe, it is highly unlikely they would make a lowgrade version for the UK.”
Mr King said there had been cases of HGV drivers switching off their emergency braking systems because they liked to “tailgate” – drive too closely behind another vehicle, making it unlikely they would be able to avoid a collision if the other driver were to brake quickly. However, he said, most manufacturers and safety campaigners were in favour of the technology.
The rule change has become known as Dev’s Law, after a campaign by Meera Naran, whose eight-year-old son Dev was killed when a lorry crashed into his grandfather’s car on the M6 near Birmingham in 2018. Richard Billyeald, chief technical officer at Thatcham Research, the motor industry’s research centre, said automatic emergency braking would be required in the UK for car manufacturers to secure top safety ratings under a Europe-wide assessment, Euro NCAP, to which the UK is party.
“Things like Euro NCAP and our own insurance group ratings will make them fit this technology anyway because of the benefits it brings and carmakers don’t want to be seen as unsafe,” he said.
There has been criticism of some of the other proposed EU safety measures, such as speed limiters, although the rules have been eased to allow drivers to override warnings that they are going too fast.
David Davies, executive director of the parliamentary advisory council for transport safety, said the Government should legislate or risk piecemeal introduction of the measures.
“Cheaper models might not be fitted with the systems, or you could get marked-up prices for a car with the technology,” he said.