EU public consultation on lane-keeping systems

The European Commission’s public consultation on emergency lane-keeping systems (ELKS) will be open for comments till 11 February 2021.

Under new EU vehicle safety rules, all new car and van models must be equipped with emergency lane-keeping systems (ELKS) from July 2022, and existing models from July 2024. The system helps drivers stay safely within their lane or the road boundary, to avoid accidents.  The consultation is aimed at setting out the requirements and tests for approving vehicles with these systems. 

The proposed Implementing Regulation lays down details of general requirements for ELKS contained in the Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 on type-approval requirements for motor vehicles as regards their general safety. 

One of the premises for ELKS mentioned in the Implementing Regulation is that it should provide a warning to the driver and correct the trajectory only when the driver is unintentionally leaving the lane.  The reason is that it is particularly difficult for current technologies to assess whether the crossing of dashed-lane markings by the driver is intentional or not. As a result, unnecessary interventions by the emergency lane-keeping system may prompt the driver to switch the system off and thus lead to loss of potential safety benefit. 

The comments can be submitted here.