Skip to main content

EU rolls out intelligent information services

The European Commission has adopted two regulations to promote the roll-out of intelligent information services, such as real-time warnings about dangerous road conditions ahead and information on safe and secure parking places for truck drivers. They can be provided through different means such as variable road signs, the radio and mobile phone applications. The Commission wants these information services to be interoperable and compatible across Europe, and available to as many drivers as possible along t
May 16, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
The 1690 European Commission has adopted two regulations to promote the roll-out of intelligent information services, such as real-time warnings about dangerous road conditions ahead and information on safe and secure parking places for truck drivers. They can be provided through different means such as variable road signs, the radio and mobile phone applications.

The Commission wants these information services to be interoperable and compatible across Europe, and available to as many drivers as possible along the trans-European road network.

Commission Vice-President Siim Kallas, responsible for transport, said: “Smart systems are already part of most citizens’ daily life. Timely and accurate information can help us enhance road safety and security as well as transport efficiency.”

The number of road fatalities decreased by nine per cent in 2012, meaning that member states are back on track towards the objective of halving road deaths between 2010 and 2020.

Estimates suggest that intelligent information services could reduce the number of road fatalities by up to seven per cent, as well as the number and severity of accidents. They will also decrease delays caused by road accidents, CO2 emissions and the cost of repair of infrastructure. Moreover, they can reduce the time spent by lorry drivers searching for parking spaces up to thirty per cent.

The new regulations do not make the roll-out of information services mandatory. However, if and when member states, operators and service providers want to develop and deploy such services, they will have to comply with the regulations’ requirements.

Related Content

  • ITS solutions to keep truck traffic moving
    June 8, 2015
    David Crawford reviews freight management initiatives. Managing truck traffic to minimise its environmental impacts, without adversely impacting on its critical economic role, continues to drive ITS-based solutions in both urban and interurban contexts.
  • EU proposes minimum of 8 million EV charging points by 2020
    January 29, 2013
    The European Commission has unveiled measures to boost the deployment of alternative fuels, including electricity and hydrogen, in EU transport. Under the Clean Power for Transport package, the Commission proposes a minimum number of recharging points per country with common standards for interoperability throughout the EU. Even though alternative fuels, such as electricity and hydrogen are available in the market, there are several obstacles that prevent their wider deployment. According to the European Co
  • European car manufacturers face world’s toughest CO2 targets
    July 12, 2012
    Following the adoption yesterday of the European Commission's proposals to reduce CO2 emissions from cars and vans, the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) says it will now work with its members to conduct a full analysis of how the proposed targets should be reached as well as their feasibility, and what this means in practice for the industry as a whole.
  • 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