Mandatory Speed Limiters For UK Cars
Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA) technology must be fitted to all new cars sold in Europe from July 2022 under new EU legislation. It’s expected that the rule will still apply in this country despite the UK having left the European Union.
Much of the concern about the new technology stems from whether it can be overridden. Many motorists and road safety groups have warned of the safety risk if drivers aren’t able to accelerate suddenly to avoid road hazards and get themselves out of dangerous situations. However, the European Commission has made it clear that drivers will be able to override the ISA software to aid certain overtaking manoeuvres. This means that motorists will still be able to act fast if they need to get out of trouble. Many cars UK cars already have speed limiters fitted which can be overridden by pressing hard on the accelerator.
ISA technical specifications have now been published in the official journal of the EU, the final legal step before speed limiters become mandatory in new vehicles from July 2022, however, after industry pressure, the EU is also allowing a more basic system that plays an audio warning a few moments after the vehicle exceeds the speed limit.
Speed limiters work by using GPS data and traffic cameras to determine the speed limits of each road, and automatically restrict vehicles from breaking the limit.
