SME Chamber President meets MDB Officials
22 April 2024
Malta Chamber of SMEs President Mr Paul Abela met MDB Chairman Leo Brincat and CEO...
New legal framework for Intelligent Transport Systems
14 July 2010
On the 6th of July, at plenary the European Parliament voted in favour of a new legal framework for Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) in the field of road transport and interfaces with other transport modes, approving the Council position.
This Directive is an important instrument for the coordinated implementation of ITS in Europe. We will make a huge step towards the deployment and use of interoperable and seamless ITS services while leaving Member States the freedom to decide which systems to invest in. The approval will foster a more efficient, safer and more sustainable, integrated and competitive mobility in Europe.
ITS apply information and communication technologies to various modes of transport, in order to make them more efficient while minimising the negative effects on health, nature, the economy and quality of life. The costs of traffic congestion – estimated at 1% of European gross domestic product – can be reduced by 10% through the deployment of ITS. Intelligent technology in cars and trucks is expected to help prevent more than 5,000 deaths in road accidents each year.
The Directive will support the ITS Action Plan (adopted 16 December 2008 – http://ec.europa.eu/transport/its/road/action_plan/action_plan_en.htm) and aims to establish a framework to accelerate and coordinate the deployment and use of ITS for road transport, including the interfaces with other transport modes. The first priorities will be traffic and travel information, the eCall emergency system and intelligent truck parking.
Under this Directive the Commission has to adopt within the next seven years specifications (i.e. functional, technical, organisational or services provisions) to address the compatibility, interoperability and continuity of ITS solutions across Europe. The Commission will also establish an European ITS Advisory Group, which will bring together representatives of relevant ITS stakeholders and advise the Commission on business and technical aspects of the implementation and deployment of ITS in the EU.
