COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2021/646

of 19 April 2021

laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards uniform procedures and technical specifications for the type-approval of motor vehicles with regard to their emergency lane-keeping systems (ELKS)

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2019 on type-approval requirements for motor vehicles and their trailers, and systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles, as regards their general safety and the protection of vehicle occupants and vulnerable road users, amending Regulation (EU) 2018/858 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulations (EC) No 78/2009, (EC) No 79/2009 and (EC) No 661/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulations (EC) No 631/2009, (EU) No 406/2010, (EU) No 672/2010, (EU) No 1003/2010, (EU) No 1005/2010, (EU) No 1008/2010, (EU) No 1009/2010, (EU) No 19/2011, (EU) No 109/2011, (EU) No 458/2011, (EU) No 65/2012, (EU) No 130/2012, (EU) No 347/2012, (EU) No 351/2012, (EU) No 1230/2012 and (EU) 2015/166 (1), and in particular Article 7(6) in conjunction with Article 7(3) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Article 7(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 requires passenger cars and light commercial vehicles to be equipped with emergency lane-keeping systems. It is necessary to establish rules as regards uniform procedures and technical specifications for the type-approval of vehicles with regard to the emergency lane-keeping systems.

(2) The type-approval procedures set out in Regulation (EU) 2018/858 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) apply to the type-approval of motor vehicles with regard to the emergency lane-keeping systems. To allow for a consistent approach with regard to the information to be provided in the information document referred to in Article 24(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2018/858, the information relevant for the emergency lane-keeping system should be further specified in this Regulation.

(3) The EU type-approval certificate, referred to in Article 28(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/858, to be issued for emergency lane-keeping systems, should be based on the respective Model template laid down in Annex III to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/683 (3). However, the addendum to the type-approval certificate should contain the information specific to the emergency lane-keeping systems as defined in this Regulation, therefore the template for the type-approval certificate with the complemented addendum should be laid down in this Regulation.

(4) In accordance with note 6 to the table in Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2019/2144, the application of the requirement for mandatory fitting an emergency lane-keeping system is deferred by two years with regard to motor vehicles with hydraulic power assisted steering systems. For that period, such vehicles should be equipped with a lane departure warning system meeting the requirements of this Regulation.

(5) The emergency lane-keeping system is a driver assisting system that should provide warning to the driver and correct the trajectory only when the driver is unintentionally leaving the lane.

(6) In accordance with national traffic legislation, drivers are allowed to cross dashed-lane markings and it is particularly difficult for current technologies to assess whether the crossing of dashed-lane markings by the driver is intentional or not. In order to avoid unnecessary interventions by the emergency lane-keeping system, which may prompt the driver to switch the system off and thus lead to loss of potential safety benefit, the emergency lane-keeping system should be required only to warn the driver and not to correct the vehicle trajectory when crossing dashed-lane markings.

(7) The currently existing technologies for the emergency lane-keeping systems are based on the detection of lane markings and the performance of those systems cannot be guaranteed in the absence of such markings. Therefore, the emergency lane-keeping systems should not be required to operate in the absence of lane markings.

(8) Given the complexity of the electronic control system(s) of emergency lane-keeping systems, it is necessary to supplement the tests provided in this Regulation by documentation, demonstrating the design and validation measures taken by the manufacturer to ensure that the emergency lane-keeping system operates safely in various situations. The relevant documentation to be provided by the manufacturer and the procedures for its assessment by the approval authorities or technical services shall be defined in this Regulation.

(9) As Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 is to apply from 6 July 2022, this Regulation should apply from the same date.

(10) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Technical Committee – Motor Vehicles,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1 Administrative provisions and technical specifications for the type-approval of motor vehicles with regard to the emergency lane-keeping systems 1. The information document, submitted in accordance with Article 24(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2018/858 with the application for type-approval of a type of vehicle with regard to the emergency lane-keeping system, shall consist of the information relevant for that system as contained in Part 1 of Annex I. 2. The type-approval of motor vehicles with regard to emergency lane-keeping systems shall be subject to the technical specifications set out in Part 2 of Annex I. 3. Where motor vehicles with hydraulic power assisted steering are equipped, instead of emergency lane-keeping systems, with lane departure warning systems as defined in Article 3(9) of Regulation (EU) 2019/2144, those lane departure warning systems shall comply with the relevant technical specifications set out in Part 2 of Annex I. 4. The EU type-approval certificate for a type of vehicle with regard to the emergency lane-keeping system, as referred to in Article 28(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/858, shall be drawn up in accordance with Part 3 of Annex I.

Article 2 Safety audit Procedures for verification of the safety aspects of electronic control systems of the emergency lane-keeping systems by the approval authorities or technical services and for the assessment of the technical documentation provided by the manufacturers are laid down in Annex II.

Article 3 Entry into force and application This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. It shall apply from 6 July 2022.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 19 April 2021. For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 325, 16.12.2019, p. 1.

(2) Regulation (EU) 2018/858 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on the approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles and their trailers, and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles, amending Regulations (EC) No 715/2007 and (EC) No 595/2009 and repealing Directive 2007/46/EC (OJ L 151, 14.6.2018, p. 1).

(3) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/683 of 15 April 2020 implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/858 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regards to the administrative requirements for the approval and market surveillance of motor vehicles and their trailers, and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles (OJ L 163, 26.5.2020, p. 1).