The Official Journal of the European Union, OJEU, published on August 12th the Commission Recommendation of May 26th on safe and efficient in-vehicle information and communication systems, updating the European Statement of Principles on human-machine interface (HMI). This Recommendation summarises the essential safe design and use aspects to be considered for HMI for in-vehicle information and communication systems, and replaces the previous version of 1999 Recommendation.

The new Statement of Principles summarises essential safety aspects to be considered for the human-machine interface (HMI) for in-vehicle information and communication systems. These principles promote the introduction of well designed systems into the market, and by taking into account both the potential benefits and associated risks, they do not prevent innovation within the industry.

This new Recommendation in one of the priority actions of the the i2010 Intelligent Car Initiative, which promotes the idea of an “eCall” service for all. These principles apply primarily to in-vehicle information and communication systems intended for use by the driver while the vehicle is in motion, for example navigation systems, mobile phones and traffic and travel information (TTI) systems. Due to a lack of comprehensive research results and scientific proof, they are not intended to apply to systems that are voice controlled or to systems providing vehicle braking stabilisation (such as ABS and ESP), or to advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).

The principles include recommendations in the fields of:

• Overall design Principles
• Installations Principles
• Information Presentation Principles
• Interaction with displays and controls Principle
• System behaviour Principle
• Information about the system Principle

The recommendations also include some Recommendations on safe use (RSU), which are of relevance to employers, point-of-sale personnel, vehicle hire companies and drivers themselves.

The primary need is for all sections of industry to be aware of the ESoP 2006 and RSU and to include the principles within their considerations of design and use of in-vehicle systems. For vehicle OEMs, a key organisation is the European Automobile Manufacturers Association,  ACEA, which committed itself to the principles contained in the 1999 ESoP. The Commission invites ACEA to endorse the 2006 ESoP and ensure that it is distributed and acknowledged within their industry, including their supply chains.

Additional industry stakeholders are involved with nomadic devices and the products and services that they support. There is no single appropriate industry body, but many of the issues specific to the design of nomadic devices and their use and integration within vehicles can be discussed through the Nomadic Devices Forum.

Member States should promote these principles, encourage stakeholders to adhere to them by written commitment if possible, and monitor the actual adherence to these principles.

The European vehicle manufacturing and supply industries, should comply with the updated European Statement of Principles and should enter into a voluntary agreement on this matter within a period of nine months from the publication of this Recommendation.

Professional transport-related organisations should commit to these principles within the same time-frame and Member States should monitor activities linked to HMI, disseminate the updated version of the Statement of Principles amongst all relevant stakeholders, and encourage them to adhere to these principles. Where appropriate, they should discuss and coordinate their actions through the Commission, the eSafety Forum or other appropriate forums.

The EU has strongly promoted several actions aiming to improve safety in European cars. Early this year the Commission proposed that all new cars should include some safety systems such as Electronic Stability Control (ESC), or Advanced Emergency Braking Systems (AEBS) and Lane Departure Warning (LDW) for lorries and heavy vehicles.