The EU Commission has passed a new ruling on future vehicle safety devices that will make 11 safety features mandatory on all new cars from 2021. The list includes autonomous emergency braking, lane-keeping assistance, driver fatigue monitoring and reversing cameras.

The objective of the new regulation is to further improve road safety, with the commission estimating that they will save 7,300 lives and prevent 39,000 serious injuries by 2030.

The full list of mandatory new car safety systems for 2021 is:

Advanced emergency braking
Alcohol interlock installation facilitation
Drowsiness and attention detection
Accident data recorder
Emergency stop signal
Full-width frontal occupant protection crash test and improved seatbelts
Head impact zone enlargement for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as safety glass
Intelligent speed assistance
Lane keeping assist
Pole side impact occupant protection
Reversing camera or detection system

The announcement will obviously impact on the future of the accident repair industry, with these types of devices already having significantly reduced repair volumes across the board. However, this technology may also provide an opportunity for repairers as such equipment will itself often require repair and calibration.