Side-impact resistance of motor vehicles (amend. Directive 70/156/EEC)

The objective of the proposal for a directive is to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured in road accidents by introducing new standards for the lateral impact resistance of passenger cars. The proposal applies to new types of vehicle approved after a certain date and defines a new test procedure which, when fully implemented, will represent a typical lateral impact more realistically. The proposal incorporates the technical requirements developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe and is based on experimental research carried out by the EEVC (European Experimental Vehicle Committee). Specifically, the Commission proposes: - provisionally introducing a barrier height of 260 mm, as agreed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe; - introducing a barrier height of 300 mm (optional as of 1 January 1998 and compulsory as of 1 October 2001). The second stage will apply to all new vehicles as of 1 October 2004, subject to a report on the implementation of the directive and the feasibility of this date for industry, to be presented by the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council by 1 October 2002.�