Title: The EEC type-approval system and its development: an efficient contribution to traffic safety in the European Community

Authors: H. Henssler

Addresses: Commision of the European Communities, Directorate General for Internal Market and Industrial Affairs, Brussels, Belgium

Abstract: This paper reviews the objectives and procedures of the EEC type-approval system for motor vehicles, and discusses in detail one of the main issues with which it is most concerned, traffic safety. The Global Approach, developed in response to the increasing rate of technological innovation, is introduced and the next generation of European safety regulations and procedures for formulating them are discussed. It is seen that, in future, the Commission of the European Communities will strive for more performance-related, rather than design-related, specifications in its directives and the development of an integrated whole-vehicle test procedure, to be offered to manufacturers as an alternative to the traditional component-approval procedures.

Keywords: active safety; EEC vehicle safety regulations; EEC type approval system; frontal impact; passive safety; side impact; traffic safety; vehicle design; vehicle safety regulations.

DOI: 10.1504/IJVD.1986.061161

International Journal of Vehicle Design, 1986 Vol.7 No.5/6, pp.18 - 28

Published online: 25 May 2014 *

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