I can now confirm that the new European Union âGeneral Safety Regulationâ rules are set to enter into force in January/February 2020, then start applying 30 months later.
The process, Iâve been told by an EU spokesperson, is as follows:
- The Council of the EU decides to adopt by accepting the European Parliamentâs (EP) amendments to the Commission Proposal (8th November)
- Then the act is signed by the President of the EP and the General Secretary of the Council in the week beginning 25th November.
- Within a month it gets published in the Official Journal of the EU. The act in this case provides that it enters into force (obtains legal existence) 20 days after publication in the OJ.
The act also provides for a 30-month transitional period for most provisions, which means it will only start to apply 30 months after entry into force.
Note: the exact date(s) will be known only once the act has been published in the OJ as all deadlines depend on that date.
2020 the year of DMS
Enough of EU procedures: the good news is that from 2020 there will be a legal requirement for all completely new car models to have systems to monitor drivers for drowsiness and also distraction by June 2022, while even refreshed models will have to comply by 2024.
Euro NCAP, which has traditionally set car safety standards well beyond legislative requirements, is pushing equally hard for advanced driver monitoring. It is developing test and assessment protocols that will be introduced at the beginning of 2021. Moreover, requirements to measure driver distraction and fatigue/drowsiness will be built into Euro NCAPâs 5 star safety ratings from 2022.
Thatcham Research, is also working with Euro NCAP to develop testing protocols to ensure future cars have effective driver monitoring systems.
While these regulations and standards are intended to be âtechnology neutralâ, it is now obvious that the only technology that can effectively meet these requirements is camera-based DMS.
This is very positive news for Seeing Machines, in particular, and I’m expecting some big auto contracts to be announced soon.
The writer still holds SEE stock!