Skip to main content

EU policymakers must facilitate automated motoring, say European Motoring Clubs

The Eurocouncil of the Federation Nationale de l’Automobile (FIA) claims that EU policymakers must take responsibility for facilitating the deployment of automated motoring. Made up of 73 FIA Automobile Clubs in Europe and with 37 million members, the Eurocouncil believes in the potential for automation to improve road safety, and urges EU institutions to streamline the deployment of this technology. The declaration was adopted at the annual FIA Region I Spring Meeting, taking place in Gammarth, Tunisia fro
May 7, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
The Eurocouncil of the Federation Nationale de l’Automobile (FIA) claims that EU policymakers must take responsibility for facilitating the deployment of automated motoring. Made up of 73 FIA Automobile Clubs in Europe and with 37 million members, the Eurocouncil believes in the potential for automation to improve road safety, and urges EU institutions to streamline the deployment of this technology. The declaration was adopted at the annual FIA Region I Spring Meeting, taking place in Gammarth, Tunisia from 5-8 May 2015.

FIA Region 1 president, Thierry Willemarck, said: “This is the moment when automation is poised to dramatically improve road safety. Policymakers need to create the best legislative environment as this technology becomes a reality. Users must be at the heart of this deployment as well. They need to be informed and ready to adopt this next evolution in mobility.”

The Eurocouncil declaration demands that a concerted effort is made by EU policymakers to create a path to automated motoring, especially by considering the specific driver education and training needs in the revision of the European Driving Licence Directive, seeking international harmonisation of road signs and markings necessary for automated road traffic and enabling wide accessibility to road infrastructure and traffic data needed for automated operation within the provisions of the European ITS Directive and implementation.

They must also direct infrastructure-related investment of the TEN-T programme and Connecting Europe Facility to prepare road and roadside infrastructure for automation, support the development of vehicle design standards that promote driver supervised automation, in particular to safeguard driver vigilance and supp[ort an adapted legal framework, taking into account changing liability rules.

Related Content

  • Europe's electronic toll service closer to operational reality
    November 7, 2012
    After much debate and delay, a unifying European Electronic Toll Service is now finally on the horizon, says ASFiNAG’s Klaus Schierhackl. Here, he talks with Jason Barnes about what that might mean. Aworkable European Electronic Toll Service (EETS) which will allow truck drivers to travel across the continent and pay tolls using a single account and OnBoard Unit (OBU) was originally timetabled to be in place and operating by October of this year. A lack of urgency from some of the stakeholders involved in t
  • Hyperloop: from sci-fi to transport policy
    April 16, 2020
    The future is here. While it has long looked like something from a sci-fi movie, Graham Anderson investigates a technology whose time might have come.
  • Most EU motorists want legislation on vehicle data, says survey
    January 16, 2019
    The overwhelming majority of European road users want laws to protect their rights when it comes to the data their vehicle generates while driving. A new survey, by FIA Region I across 15 countries, found that 93% of motorists support the need for dedicated legislation to ensure their consumer rights and data protection. This is not to suggest that people have a problem with vehicle data per se – for example, 88% are happy to share remotely their location and vehicle status with roadside assistance provid
  • FIA welcomes call for intelligent transport systems to improve urban mobility
    November 11, 2015
    On 10 November, the European Parliament’s Transport Committee adopted its report on sustainable urban mobility. FIA Region I welcomes the balanced outcome, which acknowledges that diverse local situations must not be decided upon in Brussels. Jacob Bangsgaard, FIA Region I Director General, said: “With the population in European cities growing by 2 million each year, policymakers need a clear strategy to bring about the mobility solutions that can meet the needs of city residents. Intelligent Transport