New EU rules on car speed limiters coming into force

LONDON: New European Union rules mandating speed-limiting systems to be fitted to new cars, vans and lorries have come into force as of July 6.

The requirement for newly launched models to have Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) technology is part of a package of measures aimed at boosting road safety in the bloc.

ISA detects speed limits on roads through devices such as cameras and satnavs. Drivers are alerted when their vehicle exceeds the maximum permitted speed such as through audible or vibrating warnings, or by the accelerator pedal gently pushing their foot back.

In some versions, the vehicle's speed is automatically reduced. But users can ignore the warnings and override speed reductions.

Other measures in the EU's General Safety Regulation (GSR) include driver drowsiness warnings, emergency stop signals, accurate tyre pressure monitoring and event data recorders.

"While some people will be understandably nervous about the mandatory introduction of ISA, it's important to note that it can be manually overridden," Dan Powell, senior editor at used car website CarSite, said.

"Some cars feature this tech already and feedback from owners is generally positive."

According to EU regulation, the speed assistance system will gently push the driver's foot back to make the driver aware and help them slow down.

"The driver can ignore this feedback and override the system by pushing slightly harder on the acceleration pedal," EU road safety officials write.

The laws are being implemented across the EU but are not being implemented in the UK, where the Department for Transport (DfT) said it is assessing the technologies within the regulation but no decision has been made on whether any of them will be mandated in Britain.

There has been no significant fall in the annual number of UK road deaths since 2010, apart from in 2020 when coronavirus lockdowns led to a huge reduction in traffic.

DfT figures show a driver or rider breaking the speed limit contributes to around one in six fatalities on Britain's roads. — PA Media