The European Commission has issued several proposals aimed at improving vehicle safety, and proposes that all new passenger cars be equipped with electronic stability control systems beginning in 2012.
The EC also wants new commercial trucks and other heavy vehicles to be fitted with advanced emergency braking and lane departure warning systems by 2013.
Last year the commission proposed requiring that all new passenger vehicles be equipped with brake assist systems—which activate the brakes faster than a driver can do manually—by next year.
The commission figures that adopting these measures would prevent 5,000 traffic fatalities per year in Europe.
The new rules are part of an EC proposal to replace more than 150 existing directives with a single set of regulations that would be directly applicable throughout the EU.