EU lawmakers have agreed plans for mandatory car safety features such as speed limiters.
Under the proposals, new vehicles sold in Europe would need to have safety features such as intelligent speed assistance and advanced emergency-braking systems.
Other mandatory features would include an "alcohol interlock installation facilitation" - effectively allowing for the use of in-car breathalysers to ensure a driver isn't over the drink-driving limit.
It comes as part of the EU's efforts to improve road safety, after 25,300 were killed on roads within the bloc in 2017.
It's hoped the measures could help to avoid 140,000 serious injuries by 2038.
The new features would be obligatory in any new car models sold from May 2022, and for existing models from May 2024.
Safety measures
Under the proposed rules, there'd also be 'passive' requirements such as improved crash tests and windscreens.
Other measures proposed include technology that detects when drivers are losing concentration or falling asleep, as well as accident black boxes that record vehicle movements.
Lawmakers are also proposing that trucks and buses will have to be designed to ensure cyclists and pedestrians are more visible to the driver.
Large vehicles would also need advanced features such as collision warnings and blind spot information systems.
"Life and death"
European Parliament’s rapporteur Róża Thun explained: "The regulation deals in the most direct sense with life and death.
"It introduces advanced systems that assist car users, instead of merely informing them.
“[Intelligent speed assistance] will provide a driver with feedback, based on maps and road sign observation, always when speed limit is exceeded. This will not only make all of us safer, but also help drivers to avoid speeding tickets”,
The proposals have to be confirmed by member states, before being put to the full European Parliament and EU Council of Ministers.
Science journalist Sean Duke said it would represent the biggest overhaul in road safety in years.
He told Newstalk Breakfast: "[They're] fairly fundamental technologies that we're all aware of, but they're all being brought to bear in this.
"It seems to be the biggest thing that's happened in road safety since seat-belts were brought in as a compulsory thing."
