Netherlands Considers Cruise Control

The Dutch government has proposed a plan to make cruise control and onboard computers advising drivers when to upshift obligatory accessories in all new cars sold throughout the 15-nation European Union in order to reduce emissions and save fuel.

Environment Secretary Pieter van Geel says the Netherlands shortly will present a proposal with a view to introduction of the plan by the end of 2004. The Dutch government says its studies show that the use of these devices “should lead to a 10% reduction in fuel usage and substantially less CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions.”

Cruise control systems are not common in European vehicles at present, and their use is not enforced by any government. Two reasons for their lack of popularity is that driving distances are shorter and roads more congested than in the U.S. and the vast majority of European cars have manual transmissions rather than automatics, making them less responsive to cruise control.

The Dutch are hopeful that their proposal will be adopted, but that is far from certain. There currently is a lively debate about cruise control in Belgium, for example, following a number of fatal accidents earlier this year when trucks being driven under cruise control crashed into other vehicles.