WRITTEN QUESTION E-2074/01

by Giuseppe Pisicchio (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(13 July 2001)

Subject: Public safety and environmental protection in Europe

There can be no question that the EU accords a great deal of importance to public safety, environmental protection and saving energy.

A survey carried out by ETRTO (European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation) has shown that 70 % of the tyres fitted to motor vehicles in Europe are under-inflated, resulting in higher fuel consumption (and thereby an increase of between 5 and 25 % in CO2 emissions) and a sharp reduction in the useful life of the tyres (which is between 20 and 50 % shorter than under normal conditions). According to the UTWG (Used Tyre Working Group), an organisation which monitors the use and disposal of tyres in the United Kingdom, drivers get through approximately 35 million tyres each year in Europe, causing enormous disposal problems.

According to the CARE Community database on road accidents (Decision 93/704/EC(1) of 30 November 1993), tyre and tyre pressure problems are a factor in 1,4 % of fatal accidents in the EU Member States.

In the USA, the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) has found that in 1999 alone, 647 fatal road accidents (2 % of all fatal road accidents) were linked to low tyre pressures. The US legislative authorities have accordingly passed a federal law (HR 5164, known as the Tread Act), section 13 of which requires all motor vehicles registered after 1 November 2003 to be fitted with tyre pressure monitoring devices.

Given the above, how does the Commission intend to ensure that, following in the footsteps of the pioneering US legislation, the greatest possible importance is accorded to public safety in this area, particularly in view of the environmental implications involved?

(1) OJ L 329, 30.12.1993, p. 63.

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(26 September 2001)

The Commission is well aware that under-inflated tyres represent a significant cause of serious accidents and can lead to an increase in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

It has now been well established that at least 1,4 % of fatal accidents in the EU are linked to tyre pressures, which represents a potential of approximately 600 lives which could be saved through tyre-pressure monitoring.

For some years now, the Commission has been closely following the development of tyre technology and is convinced that a solution can be found through a global approach. Furthermore, it has raised these issues in the expert groups of the Group of Rapporteurs on Brakes and Running Gear and the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and also at the more official level of the World Forum on the Standardisation of Vehicle Construction under the auspices of the United Nations. The results of the work carried out by the experts are expected in autumn 2001.

The harmonisation of safety legislation currently in force throughout the world could lead to a requirement for wheel-tyre systems fitted with pressure sensors which immediately signal an under-inflated tyre or a significant imbalance in pressure between tyres on the same axle.

The Commission is therefore examining the possibilities and the need for action in this field, particularly in the light of the work of the World Forum on the Standardisation of Vehicle Construction.