ETSC once again discusses risks of US-EU vehicle equivalence amid warnings on road safety
The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) presented a detailed new briefing highlighting the significant road safety implications of mutual recognition between US and EU vehicle standards following up on a previous letter co-signed by POLIS.
As the EU and US continue discussions on a deal regarding car imports, concerns about road safety have escalated. Recently, ten European transport organisations, including POLIS, co-signed a letter published in the Financial Times warning against lowering vehicle safety standards as part of trade negotiations.
POLIS, along with the European Transport Safety Council, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, Region I, Euro NCAP — The European New Car Assessment Programme, Transport & Environment, ANEC — The European Consumer Voice in Standardisation, FEVR — European Federation of Road Traffic Victims, Clean Cities Campaign, the International Federation of Pedestrians, and the European Cyclists’ Federation, expressed concerns that any deal recognising US vehicles as ‘equivalent’ could jeopardise the high safety standards that have contributed to a 16% reduction in road fatalities in the EU since 2013.
The letter highlighted the dangers of American vehicles, particularly pick-up trucks, which are larger and heavier than their European counterparts, putting vulnerable road users at increased risk. For example, pedestrians or cyclists hit by an American pick-up face a 200% greater chance of fatal injury compared to collisions with smaller European vehicles.
Safety standards divergence and the risk of loopholes
Mutual recognition translates to one thing, and one thing only: allowing US-market vehicles to be sold in the EU without meeting the EU's rigorous safety standards.
In its latest briefing, ETSC emphasised that EU and US vehicle standards are not equivalent and that any move to weaken EU standards would have detrimental consequences. Indeed, the EU has introduced stringent safety measures, including mandatory automated emergency braking, emergency lane-keeping systems, and improved pedestrian protection requirements, none of which are currently required in the US.
Currently, American-market pick-up trucks are being imported into the EU via a loophole known as the Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA) system, which bypasses EU type-approval regulations. In 2023, nearly 5,000 RAM trucks were imported into Europe under this scheme, representing a sharp increase in the number of such vehicles on European roads.
ETSC, POLIS, and other organisations are pushing for the closure of this loophole to prevent the growing trend of large, heavy US vehicles entering the European market without meeting EU safety standards.
