One might argue that such a violation, witnessed by unplanned police presence recording the entire incident, is just bad luck. In reality, the least unfortunate outcome is the €350 fine for the truck driver. Even though some drivers consciously choose not to follow traffic rules, infractions like this often occur unintentionally due to fatigue and reduced concentration. When driving a truck weighing several (or tens of) tons, such incidents become even more tragic, making any assistance to prevent them invaluable.

Apart from being appreciated, starting next year, certain technological assistants in the European Union will become mandatory: all newly registered trucks from July 2024 must have eight specific safety features for automatic driver assistance. Three more functionalities will join them by 2029.

GSR Saves Lives

These obligations are stipulated by an update to the European General Safety Regulation (GSR) from 2019, which set deadlines—July 2022 for new homologations and July 2024 for all new registrations (commercial vehicles over 3.5 tons).

GSR is part of the broader efforts of the European Union to achieve its long-term goal—zero fatalities and serious injuries on European roads by 2050 (the so-called “Vision zero”). Leaders estimate that the new regulations will help avoid at least 25,000 deaths and 140,000 serious injuries in road traffic accidents by 2038.

One of the key goals is to reduce accidents between trucks and vulnerable road users, primarily pedestrians and cyclists, in urban environments.

New Mandatory Systems

From July 2024, new vehicles must be equipped with the following systems:

Emergency Stop Signal: a light signal, such as flashing brake lights, activated when the vehicle suddenly slows down or brakes, warning other road users of such activity.

Rear-View Information System: a technological solution, like a camera or sensor, allowing drivers to see objects and people behind the truck.

Tire Pressure Monitoring System: a system installed in the vehicle that reports changes in tire pressure during movement (whether the pressure is increasing or decreasing).

Intelligent Speed Assistance: a system actively monitoring speed and alerting drivers if they exceed the speed limit, encouraging them to slow down or adjust their speed to road conditions.

Blind Spot Detection System: warns the driver if there is a pedestrian, cyclist, etc., in the blind spot.

Start-Up Assistance System: alerts the driver to a potential collision with pedestrians and cyclists (near the front blind spot of the vehicle) before starting or when driving slowly.

Fatigue, Drowsiness, and Attention Detection System: safety systems assessing driver alertness, tracking how long someone has been driving and prompting the driver to take a break if necessary.

Interface Preparation for Installation of Alcohol Interlock Systems: a system enabling the subsequent installation of alcohol interlock devices, preventing drivers under the influence from operating the truck.

Safety requirements include three more functionalities that will become mandatory in the coming years:

Distraction Recognition and Prevention System, able to determine whether the driver is paying sufficient attention to the situation and surroundings and alerting them if necessary (planned from 2026).

Higher Direct Vision Standard – specific requirements to improve direct visibility from the driver’s seat through the truck’s windows, as well as eliminate blind spots (inspired by a similar scheme in London, where entry into the city is allowed only for trucks with a good direct visibility rating; planned from 2029).

Event Data Recorder (accidents), a kind of “black box” in the truck (planned from 2029).

Driver Remains in Focus

Truck manufacturers have had time to plan ahead and implement these systems into their new vehicle models. Leading brands often go beyond legal requirements, incorporating systems into the most modern trucks that are already at a certain level of autonomous driving. It will be interesting to see how this industry develops in the coming years and how safety requirements, alongside the expansion of digitization, shape the appearance and functionalities of commercial vehicles.

Experts predict that we will increasingly see active safety technology in the future, and trucks will become smarter, with more intervention functions rather than just informative ones. This will undoubtedly help eliminate a number of human errors. However, it is essential not to forget that the driver remains the most critical link in the safety chain.