EU Directive on the framework for the deployment of Intelligent Transport Systems (2010/40/EU)

The ITS Directive aims to accelerate and coordinate deployment of interoperable ITS by creating the necessary conditions and mechanisms through a coherent EU-wide framework. For the purpose of the Directive, ITS is defined as “systems, in which information and communication technologies are applied, in the field of road transport (including infrastructure, vehicles and users) and, traffic and mobility management, and with the interfaces to other transport modes”.

The Directive will work in such a way that, whenever EU Member States intend to introduce certain ITS measures, they need to assure their interoperability and meet the specifications adopted by the European Commission to this purpose. The Directive does not oblige the Member States however to deploy a certain ITS application; this is up to their own discretion.

The directive defines four priority areas, and priority actions within those areas, constituting the base of future EU legislation on ITS in order to foster the deployment of ITS. The European Commission will have the task of adopting specifications for the actions planned in the priority areas. The priority areas and corresponding main actions in the draft directive include (1) Optimal use of road, traffic and traffic data: EU-wide multimodal travel and real-time traffic information services as well as road safety related minimum universal traffic information services (2) Continuity of traffic and freight management ITS services: e.g. ensuring information flow; tracking and tracing of freight (3) Road safety and security applications: pan-European e-Call service and secure parking placing for trucks (4) Linking the vehicle with the transport infrastructure: e.g. exchange between vehicles and infrastructure (V-I communication) and between vehicles (V-V communication).