Advanced Safety Technologies and Europe’s New General Safety Regulation

Safety has always been a hallmark of automotive design, but in 2025 it is taking a quantum leap. The European Union’s updated General Safety Regulation (GSR), effective from July 2024, mandates a suite of advanced driver‑assistance features for all new cars sold in EU countries. These include intelligent speed assistance, autonomous emergency braking, lane‑keeping systems, advanced crash‑test standards, data recorders and pedestrian/cyclist detection. Similar measures are being adopted in other regions as governments strive to reduce traffic fatalities.

These technologies complement the growing adoption of radar, lidar and camera‑based systems that monitor the vehicle’s surroundings. Driver‑monitoring cameras can detect drowsiness or distraction and prompt drivers to take a break. Intelligent speed assistance uses GPS and traffic‑sign recognition to warn drivers when they exceed speed limits, sometimes automatically limiting vehicle speed. Event data recorders log system performance and driving behaviour, giving regulators and insurers valuable insights after an incident.

For automakers, compliance with the GSR requires integrating a complex network of sensors, software and actuators. This adds cost and design complexity, but it also creates opportunities to differentiate through superior safety. Consumers increasingly expect new cars to "look out" for them, and insurance companies may offer discounts for vehicles equipped with advanced safety tech. Over the next few years, we’ll see the line blur between driver‑assistance systems and semi‑autonomous capabilities as vehicles take on more of the driving workload. Ensuring these systems are intuitive and do not erode driver vigilance will be the next big challenge for engineers and regulators alike.