eSafety Compendium

Programme, administered by Directorate-General for Information Society of theEuropean Commission, has realised leading-edge systems and applications.The current Information Society Technologies (IST) programme 10 builds on the successand results of the Telematics programme, continuing research in technologies andapplications systems aiming at safer, cleaner and more efficient transport, with researchfocused on intelligent safety and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems and supportingtechnologies 11 . The Intelligent Vehicle cluster of the IST Programme has over 40projects, with total budget of over 150 million € and Community contribution of over 80million €. Research into safer vehicles and infrastructures as well as accident databasesand human behaviour in road transport is also undertaken in the Sustainable Growthprogramme 12 .The forthcoming Sixth Framework Programme for 2002-2006 13 will offer new fundingopportunities for RTD in Intelligent Integrated Safety including Advanced DriverAssistance Systems and technologies. The new instrument, Integrated Project, which isdesigned to generate the knowledge required to address major societal challenges, will beespecially suitable for research in this area.Integrated Projects are intended to build a critical mass of activities and resourcesneeded for achieving ambitious, clearly defined scientific and technologicalobjectives. They are co-financed up to several tens of millions €, with the duration oftypically three to five years.Towards large-scale deployment of Intelligent Integrated Road Safety SystemsThe potential contribution of the introduction of Intelligent Integrated RoadSafety Systems including Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems for enhancing road safetyand security has already been demonstrated by the industry in a number of EuropeanRTD projects. However, to realise the potential benefits, the new systems have to bewidely deployed in the marketplace.The technology is in some cases already fully developed. Unfortunately in most casesthere is still an important gap between technology development and its deployment at areasonable cost and in sufficient quantity. These technologies have to be assessed in cooperationwith the industry in terms of their impact on accident reduction and their cost,so that priorities can be set for their introduction. Liability, standardisation, certification,and financial incentives need to be considered.New technologies for more sustainable transportThe environment has become a major influencing factor on the motor industry.Environmental legislation affects both the design and performance of motor vehicles andthe ways in which they are manufactured. In addition environmental considerations havealso become an argument for sales of vehicles.10 The Information Society Technologies Programme is part of the European Union’s Fifth FrameworkProgramme for research and technological development (RTD), covering the period 1998-200211 www.europa.eu.int/information_society/programmes/esafety/index_en.htm12 See www.europa.eu.int/comm/research/growth/gcc/menu-researchthemes.html13 Council decision 3 June 2002 concerning the specific programmes implementing the SixthFramework Programme 2002-2006 of the European Community for research, technologicaldevelopment and demonstration activities (2002-2006)Page 20 of 490