Report - A6-0169/2008Report
A6-0169/2008
European Parliament

REPORT on the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: Towards Europe-wide Safer, Cleaner and Efficient Mobility: The First Intelligent Car Report

6.5.2008 - (2007/2259(INI))

Committee on Transport and Tourism
Rapporteur: Zita Gurmai

Procedure : 2007/2259(INI)
Document stages in plenary
Document selected :  
A6-0169/2008
Texts tabled :
A6-0169/2008
Debates :
Votes :
Texts adopted :

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

on Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: Towards Europe-wide Safer, Cleaner and Efficient Mobility: The First Intelligent Car Report

(2007/2259(INI))

The European Parliament,

–   having regard to the Communication from the Commission on the Intelligent Car Initiative - "Raising Awareness of ICT for Smarter, Safer and Cleaner Vehicles" (COM(2006)0059) ("Intelligent Car Initiative"),

–   having regard to the Communication from the Commission entitled "Bringing eCall back on track - Action Plan (3rd eSafety Communication)" (COM(2006)0723),

–   having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the European Council and the European Parliament entitled "An energy policy for Europe" (COM(2007)0001),

–   having regard to the Communication from the Commission entitled "i2010 - Annual Information Society Report 2007" (COM(2007)0146),

–   having regard to the Commission recommendation of 22 December 2006 on safe and efficient in-vehicle information and communication systems: update of the European Statement of Principles on human machine interface[1],

–   having regard to its resolution of 12 February 2003 on the Commission White Paper "European transport policy for 2010: time to decide"[2],

–   having regard to its resolution of 27 April 2006 on Road safety: bringing eCall to citizens[3],

–   having regard to its resolution of 18 January 2007 on European Road Safety Action Programme - mid-term review[4],

–   having regard to its resolution of 12 July 2007 on keeping Europe moving - sustainable mobility for our continent[5],

–   having regard to its resolution of 24 October 2007 on the Community Strategy to reduce CO2 emissions from passenger cars and light-commercial vehicles[6],

–   having regard its resolution of 15 January 2008 on CARS 21: A Competitive Automotive Regulatory Framework[7],

–   having regard to Rule 45 of its Rules of Procedure,

–   having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism (A6‑0169/2008),

A. whereas the environmental costs of transport have been estimated to represent 1,1% of Europe's GDP,

B.  whereas transport is responsible for 30% of total energy consumption in the EU and road transport accounts for 60% of this figure,

C. whereas car usage currently accounts for approximately 12% of overall EU emissions of CO2,

D. whereas the Brussels European Council of 8-9 March 2007 set a firm target of a 20% reduction in the EU's greenhouse gas emissions by 2020,

E.  whereas the Commission's objective is to reach average CO2 emissions of 120 g/km for new passenger cars and light-duty vehicles by 2012,

F.  whereas the EU has not yet met the above-mentioned White Paper on European Transport Policy's goal of reducing European road accident fatalities by 50% by 2010 in comparison to the 2001 level,

G. whereas the Commission has estimated that eCall, the pan-European in-vehicle emergency call system, could save up to 2,500 lives every year in Europe if fully deployed,

H. whereas research by the University of Cologne has indicated that 4,000 lives could be saved and 100,000 injuries avoided on Europe's roads each year if all cars had electronic stability control,

I.   whereas the market for portable navigation devices grew from 3,8 million devices sold in 2005 to over 9 million in 2006,

J.   whereas technological safety systems often promote a greater sense of safety and may thus result in drivers driving in a less responsible fashion; it is therefore necessary to stress the primary importance of also properly educating drivers and promoting more intelligent driving,

1.  Welcomes the Intelligent Car Initiative and the progress achieved in its three pillars: co-ordination of relevant stakeholders, research and technological development, and awareness raising;

2.  Believes that intelligent vehicle systems can help to reduce congestion, pollution and the number and seriousness of road accidents, but that their market penetration rate is still too low;

3.  Believes that Member States should promote and get involved more actively in eSafety initiatives through Joint Technology Initiatives and that other incentives for private investments in the field of research and development should be envisaged;

4.  Is encouraged by the fact that 13 Member States and three non-EU countries have thus far signed the eCall memorandum of understanding, and reaffirms its support for this measure;

5.  Calls on the Member States to urge institutions working in the area of road safety to provide accident simulation training, since the number of road accident fatalities can be reduced above all by actively employing accident prevention techniques and the administration of first aid; believes that training bodies should teach correct responses to emergency situations;

6.  Urges the remaining Member States to sign the memorandum as soon as possible, preferably before the middle of 2008, in order to encourage the rapid introduction of this potentially life-saving feature and stresses the need for the Commission to further develop the regulatory framework for the full harmonisation of the standard emergency call (112) as well as for the eCall (E112) EU wide;

7.  Asks the Commission to assess the validity of the transmission methods already used by carmakers for this feature;

8.  Reaffirms its support for the Galileo programme and its many potential features which could ensure greater reliability for information related to these initiatives;

9.  Recalls that the Commission's stated aim is to achieve a 100% take-up of electronic stability control for all new vehicles from 2012 onwards;

10. Recalls that there is potential for reducing CO2 emissions through simple measures that have been known about for a long time, such as reduced-weight seats or tyres, engine heat accumulators or brake energy regeneration, but that many vehicles do not have these features incorporated; therefore calls on the Member States and the Commission to insist on incorporation of these technically simpler measures in every car;

11. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to assess the importance of developing new systems for accident avoidance, including new materials and automatic interconnections through active sensors, vehicle to vehicle as well as vehicle to road;

12. Stresses the importance of the timely and widespread market implementation of intelligent vehicle systems, given that such systems stand out, inter alia, thanks to their ability to interact with intelligent infrastructures; recalls that electronic systems require regular technical maintenance;

13. Therefore calls on Member States and the Commission to develop guidelines in order to encourage Member States to introduce incentives for both ecological and vehicle safety features;

14. Urges stakeholders to take appropriate measures which ensure the affordability of these new features, thus increasing consumer demand;

15. Calls, therefore, on the Member States and the Commission to continue their efforts to devise tax incentives for the purchase of vehicles which are environmentally adapted and are equipped with intelligent safety devices, in parallel to the existing incentives for purchasing less polluting cars;

16. Calls on Member States, the Commission and the car industry to provide brief, clear and comprehensible information as part of awareness-raising campaigns in order to reach the largest audience possible and inform them about intelligent vehicle systems, including car dealerships and driving schools;

17. Calls for the incentives introduced to be combined with prevention and road safety training measures for drivers;

18. Believes that road safety will benefit from better interaction between intelligent on-board apparatuses and communicators with devices integrated within the infrastructure;

19. Suggests that the Commission pay special attention to countries where the availability of intelligent systems is still very low;

20. Is aware of the fact that the introduction of new technologies should be done progressively;

21. Underlines the fact that the Intelligent Car Initiative cannot be fully accomplished if separated from “Smart roads” initiatives;

22. Therefore welcomes the commitment by the Commission to launch, from 2008 onwards, a programme to prepare transport infrastructure for the integration of co-operative systems, as well as the Commission’s cooperation with the Radio Spectrum Committee in allocating and harmonising the Intelligent Transport Systems spectrum for co-operative systems;

23. Stresses the need for coherent inter-sectoral strategies at EU level as well as the need to enhance policy frameworks for the automotive industry, the telecommunications sector, the emergency services, public social security, public works and infrastructure, research institutes and universities, which could provide incentives for developing further preventive safety applications and technologies;

24. Urges stakeholders to create an appropriate "intelligent environment" on roads and within infrastructure so that new intelligent features can work properly and can be fully exploited, including better road capacity management and intelligent road monitoring systems (real-time monitoring);

25. Urges the car industry to take into account fresh car safety features when designing new vehicles and to provide for devices to measure and display energy consumption and environmental data such as real CO2 and particulate emissions;

26. Recalls that information and communication technology (ICT) based systems can contribute to reducing pollutant emissions through more efficient traffic management, reduced fuel consumption and by facilitating eco-driving;

27. Invites the Commission to develop methodology for measuring the impact of ICTs on CO2 emissions or to coordinate and disseminate existing findings;

28. Notes that the use and availability of portable or nomadic ICT-based device systems has increased and that the market for said devices continues to grow steadily;

29. Calls on stakeholders to work on measures to ensure the safe use and fixing of such devices, and to facilitate human-machine interaction;

30. Recalls that data privacy should be properly addressed and looks forward to the publication of the eSafety Forum's forthcoming data privacy code of practice;

31. Stresses the need for a definition by the European Telecommunications Standardisation Institute (ETSI) of an open standard for introducing eCall services at European level;

32. Welcomes the negotiations on the voluntary agreement on the inclusion of eCall as a standard option in all new vehicles from 2010 onwards;

33. Welcomes the negotiations for an international agreement for a global technical regulation which would include the technical specifications for the electronic stability control system (ESC), and calls on the Commission to draw up a report on the state of those negotiations and the measures agreed on the matter;

34. Looks forward to future reports on the development of the Safer, Cleaner, Efficient and Intelligent Car Initiative;

35. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission, and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

The Intelligent Car Initiative is a flagship project within i2010[1], the European Commission's strategic policy framework for information society and the media. It seeks to promote the positive contribution that information and communication technologies (ICT) can make to the economy, society and quality of life, including in the transport field. The Commission has identified three pillars or domains for the promotion of intelligent vehicle systems: the eSafety Forum, research and development and user awareness. The eSafety Forum is a joint platform involving road safety stakeholders. Its objective is to promote and monitor the implementation of the recommendations identified by its own working group and to support the development, deployment and use of intelligent safety systems in vehicles.

The Communication reports on the progress in the twelve actions identified within these pillars, and specified in the preceding Commission Communication on the Intelligent Car Initiative[2], "Raising Awareness of ICT for Smarter, Safer and Cleaner Vehicles". The current Communication also puts forward new measures for increasing safety and reducing environmental impact.

1. Towards safer vehicles

The White Paper on Transport Policy set a target of a 50% reduction in European road accident fatalities by 2010 in comparison to 2001. As there are currently a deeply regrettable 41,600 deaths a year on European roads, we must still reduce this total by four thousand in order to meet the Union's initial goal.

The eCall system is a pan-European in-vehicle emergency call system. In the event of an accident it automatically calls the emergency services, providing them with the exact location of the vehicle. It has been estimated that, if fully deployed across the Union, eCall could save up to two thousand five hundred lives every year. Your rapporteur fully supports the aim of a full-scale roll-out of eCall by 2010 and encourages the Member States who have not yet signed the eCall Memorandum of Understanding to do so, preferably before mid 2008. This document is voluntary and is intended to reflect the commitment of signatories to support to the timely implementation of eCall[3].

Further estimates show that four thousand lives each year could be saved on European roads if all cars had Electronic Stability Control (ESC). ESC is a computerised safety technology that can avoid crashes by reducing the danger of skidding. It does this by stabilising the vehicle and preventing skidding, within physical limits, by active brake intervention on one or more wheels and through engine torque management. The rapporteur fully supports the goal of achieving 100% availability of ESC for the model year 2012.

2. Towards cleaner vehicles

Car usage is a significant source of greenhouse gases and represents 12% of all EU emissions of CO2. ICT based systems can contribute to reducing fuel consumption and emissions. For instance Adaptive Cruise Control, which adapts the speed of the car to surrounding traffic, could lead to an overall fuel reduction of three percent. Urban Traffic Control systems could make a further contribution to reducing congestion and greenhouse gas emissions through more efficient traffic flow and vehicle management.

In order to provide reliable data to the car industry and to provide assistance and information to consumers, the rapporteur invites the Commission to develop methodology for measuring the exact impact of ICTs on CO2 emissions. The rapporteur hopes that consumers will eventually use this information as an important factor when purchasing a new vehicle.

3. Towards smarter vehicles

It is the rapporteur's view that, given the increased proliferation of nomadic devices, measures should be taken to ensure their safe use and instalment in vehicles. Proper human-machine interaction is also of particular importance because of its potential for better road use. The rapporteur believes that, in the long term, all nomadic devices should be properly installed in the car to ensure that they neither distract the driver from the road nor prove to be potentially dangerous in an accident. This should increase the ease of use for drivers and reduce the risk of distraction.

In order to achieve better and more efficient traffic management, we need cooperative systems based on vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication. We have seen that citizens rightly have concerns over the use and storage of information from new technologies, not only in this area but also with regard to mobile phones and the internet for instance. Whilst we must ensure the proper functioning of such systems, it is essential that concerns over data privacy are properly addressed.

Conclusions of the rapporteur

Mobility, and especially individual mobility, is essential to the functioning of European society, and we all therefore depend heavily on transport in our everyday lives. Motor vehicles are an important part of mobility for many citizens. Ever-increasing road traffic generates serious social and environmental problems: congestion of road networks and urban areas, damage to the environment and to public health, energy wastage, accidents and, above all, the needless loss of lives. But technology offers the opportunity to alleviate and even remedy these problems.

At present penetration rates for intelligent car systems and applications remain very low in relation to their potential. The rapporteur believes that we must fully exploit these systems and applications in due course. In the intervening period a progressive, step-by-step approach is required: intelligent cars also need the support of an intelligent infrastructure but the "intelligent road" is not yet ready. The constraints within which the automotive industry must work should be duly considered. A new car is not designed, produced and tested overnight. The implementation of intelligent systems and applications in vehicles will therefore take time. One must also consider the fragmentation of the European car market.

For the consumer affordability is a key issue. Many consumers simply cannot afford the systems in question. It is therefore important that intelligent transport systems become affordable and widely available as soon as possible. Consumers also require clear and understandable information on what they are purchasing.

Consumers must be informed about "intelligent cars". Information should be brief, clear and comprehensible and it is important that it should reach the largest audience that possible. Car dealers and their sales staff play a key role in this, as does the media, especially television and the internet. The rapporteur suggests that the European Commission concentrates its efforts on countries where the availability of intelligent systems is still very low. We should raise awareness among consumers and decision-makers of the potential benefits of ICT-based solutions.

In general terms therefore the Commission's Communication is to be welcomed as a step in the direction of achieving the optimum deployment and use of intelligent car systems.

RESULT OF FINAL VOTE IN COMMITTEE

Date adopted

08.4.2008

Result of final vote

+:

–:

0:

38

1

0

Members present for the final vote

Inés Ayala Sender, Paolo Costa, Michael Cramer, Luis de Grandes Pascual, Petr Duchoň, Saïd El Khadraoui, Emanuel Jardim Fernandes, Francesco Ferrari, Brigitte Fouré, Mathieu Grosch, Stanisław Jałowiecki, Georg Jarzembowski, Timothy Kirkhope, Dieter-Lebrecht Koch, Jaromír Kohlíček, Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou, Sepp Kusstatscher, Bogusław Liberadzki, Eva Lichtenberger, Marian-Jean Marinescu, Erik Meijer, Robert Navarro, Seán Ó Neachtain, Josu Ortuondo Larrea, Willi Piecyk, Luís Queiró, Reinhard Rack, Gilles Savary, Brian Simpson, Ulrich Stockmann, Silvia-Adriana Ţicău, Yannick Vaugrenard, Lars Wohlin, Roberts Zīle

Substitute(s) present for the final vote

Zita Gurmai, Elisabeth Jeggle, Anne E. Jensen, Jelko Kacin

Substitute(s) under Rule 178(2) present for the final vote

 

Samuli Pohjamo
Legal notice - Privacy policy