The motorcar industry calls for the government to adopt the new measures, but we’ll probably get them anyway…
Brand-new cars produced in the European Union after 6th July must have Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) tech fitted as standard, and all the signs point to similar rules being applied to us in Britain.
Many cars in Europe and Britain already have speed limit assistance that relies on info from GPS, but systems currently have to be switched on by the driver of the vehicle. Under new EU regs - ISA will be active by standard, although drivers will, for now, be able to turn the systems off at the start of each trip.
Under the new EU General Safety Rule, car brands can select how their systems notify car drivers of a speed limit ‘breach’. Options include vibrating/acoustic warnings, haptic feedback via the accelerator pedal, and actively slowing the car down - one or all of these must be standard.
While careless drivers will not be automatically reined back by their vehicles yet, the ISA systems could be a step towards the implementation of fully automated speed controls.
For now, the ISA technology will only apply to all-new models launched after July 6. New cars have already been launched and, in the showrooms, will have until July 2024 to be ISA equipped. While the EU rules have been applied after Britain left the EU so won’t be adopted automatically in the UK, there’s every chance we’ll get the same systems here regardless of any government action. Pressure from Euro NCAP testing and the desire of manufacturers to have the commonality of parts will be the primary drivers.
We forward to continuing discussions with the UK government on how these measures will be rolled out in this country. Some manufacturers have already been offering these technologies to consumers ahead of any regulations, including Intelligent Speed Assistance, and will continue to do so across the UK.
So, why has the EU brought speed limiters in?
To be honest with you it’s safety. The chief proponent of ISA is the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) which says the move will reduce collisions by 30% and road deaths by 20%. The EU has a target of zero road deaths by 2050.
ISA, along with other measures coming in at the same time such as standard autonomous emergency braking (AEB), could prevent 140,000 serious road traffic injuries by 2038, it is said.
Crash test organisation EuroNCAP agrees: “Greater adherence to speed limits will avert accidents and mitigate the effects of those that occur”.
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