Europe Auto Safety Measures Could Cost U.S.

November 27, 2001

Sacramento - There is growing consensus in the European Union towards the passage of voluntary safety measures that would make European vehicles more "friendly" when they hit pedestrians and cyclists. The laws, which will affect automotive design, construction and materials, could make it more difficult or even impossible to sell U.S. made cars in European countries.

In the past, the U.S. has led all other nations in safety and environmental legislation for passenger cars and trucks, but that may be changing. In the late 1960s the U.S., without any consideration for cars being built in other countries, passed a variety of safety laws requiring seat belts, regulating bumper heights, exterior lighting and other physical aspects of passenger cars, along with restrictions on exhaust emissions. The legislation immediately limited the importation of many European-made cars whose manufacturers either could not afford to make a model strictly for the U.S. market or were not of a mind to.

Now the tide may be turning as Europeans are becoming more conscious of automotive emissions and may begin to rival California in leading legislation that requires dramatic improvements in fuel economy and reduced emissions. And a meeting yesterday in Brussels by EU government leaders indicates that new and in some cases, stringent safety measures are not far away. Under a pact made in the Brussels meeting yesterday, the European auto industry will begin implementing certain new measures as early as 2002. One of the first requirements will be the installation of ABS brakes on all cars sold. Also to become effective next year is the elimination of "cow bars" on the front of vehicles. Automakers are being encouraged to develop softer front bumpers and find new ways to design the front of cars so they would be less lethal in a crash with a pedestrian.

What's leading this push? The EU says more than 9,000 pedestrians and cyclists are killed each year and another 200,000 injured in accidents involving cars.