New EU rules have come into force mandating that all new cars, vans and lorries are fitted with automatic speed-limiting technology in a bid to improve road safety and cut the number of speed-related collisions and deaths.
Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) must be installed in all new vehicles brought to market in EU member states from 6 July 2022 as part of a raft of new safety regulations being introduced.
ISA systems use GPS, sat-nav and cameras to identify the legal limit and will warn drivers to slow down – and if they don’t the car can restrict engine power to reduce their speed.
It is possible to manually deactivate the technology and override it when in use, as it is with optional speed limiters offered on most new cars that drivers can set themselves.
EU mandate for automatic speed-limiting tech – but not in Britain: Any new model that is launched to market from 6 July 2022 will be need to have Intelligent Speed Assistance technology fitted. DfT says it won’t be implemented here… yet
While it will now be a legal requirement for all new motors sold in EU member states to have these systems, the Government has confirmed that it is not implementing the same rules here just yet.
How Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) technology works – and can it be turned off?
ISA, put simply, can limit a vehicle’s speed autonomously.
It uses a combination of GPS data, sat-nav, speed-sign recognition cameras and forward-facing cameras to identify what the speed limit is at any given time and determine if the vehicle is exceeding it.
If the car is travelling over the speed limit, the system can ultimately restrict the engine power until the legal speed is met.
For instance, if you’re driving on the M1, the ISA technology can limit you to a maximum of 70mph.
However, before any action is automatically taken, motorists will be warned to lower their speed themselves.
This will be either via a visual alert on the instrument cluster or screen, a short audible warning or a haptic notification by gently vibrating the steering wheel when the limit is being exceeded.
If any of these alerts are ignored by the driver, the system will take direct intervention to stop the vehicle from being driven too fast by reducing the available power – though at no time applying the car’s brakes.
ISA can be overridden if a driver pushes down hard on the accelerator pedal, for instance to complete and overtake. In these cases it will allow the car to go above the permitted speed limit for a short amount of time before reengaging.
Systems can be turned off by the driver, but will be reactivated each time a car is switched off and restarted.
For how long the option of turning off ISA is permitted is unknown. Many already fear its introduction on 6 July is merely a first step towards it becoming compulsory and a permanent fixture.
Though experts say it might have little choice in the matter if manufacturers are already installing them in the cars they produce for other markets.
The EU requirement for ‘newly launched models’ to have ISA technology is part of a new General Safety Regulation, which includes a package of measures designed to boost road safety in the bloc.
It is only a requirement for completely new cars brought to market from 6 July 2022; for ‘new’ models already in showrooms at the moment, manufacturers will need to have the automatic speed-limiting systems installed from 7 July 2024.
While it had been widely expected that the UK would follow suit by mandating the technology for motors sold in Britain, the Department for Transport has said it is still assessing the regulation’s technologies, including ISA, and – for the meantime – won’t be introducing any of them.
A spokesperson for the DfT told This is Money last week: ‘The package of European measures known as the General Safety Regulation will not come into effect from July in Great Britain.
‘No decision has yet been taken on which elements of the package will be implemented in Great Britain.’
Other measures included as part of the EU safety regulation includes driver drowsiness warning systems, emergency stop signals, accurate tyre pressure monitoring and event data ‘blackbox’ recorders.
RAC head of roads policy, Nicholas Lyes, says the Government needs to be ‘very careful about cherry-picking certain aspects and dropping others’ as they all ‘have the potential to significantly improve safety on the UK’s roads’.
A European safety council estimates that the bundle of new mandated features as part of the regulation will reduce traffic collisions by 30 per cent and casualties by 20 per cent.
It is part of a wider target of achieving zero road deaths in EU countries by 2050.
It could also cut journey times by alleviating the number of traffic jams that result from crashes.
In Great Britain, speeding remains a leading cause of casualties on UK roads, with around one in six fatal collisions in 2020 caused by drivers exceeding limits.
Records show there has been no significant fall in traffic-related fatalities in Britain since 2010 (apart from in 2020 when coronavirus lockdowns led to a huge reduction in traffic) – though our roads are still among the safest in the world.
Ministers have long been debating what changes could be introduced to trigger a fresh reduction in road deaths.
Proposals have included restrictions on newly-qualified motorists and graduated driving licences, though both have generally been opposed.
Ministers might have little choice on Intelligent Speed Assistance, experts warn
While the DfT says it is still yet to decide on the introduction of ISA technology in Britain, industry experts believe ministers will have little choice in the matter if car manufacturers are already installing the systems in cars produced for other countries.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, points out that some makers – including Ford, Jaguar, Honda, Renault, and Volvo – are already offering these technologies in UK-supplied cars ahead of regulations.
‘The UK has some of the safest roads in the world, but action to improve our record still further should be welcomed,’ he explained.
‘With the heavily integrated nature of the UK and European automotive sectors, regulatory divergence is not advantageous for either party.’
Nicholas Lyes from the RAC added: ‘It’s probably the case that manufacturers won’t be too keen on excluding certain features just from the cars that they sell to the UK market, as this is likely to drive up their costs.’
Dan Powell, senior editor at CarSite, agreed, suggesting it was likely that the technology would become widespread, regardless of whether ministers pass the legislation in the UK.
He told us: ‘I think it’s likely it will be introduced. Many cars in the UK are built to EU spec and this means the technology will be fitted and enabled, regardless if it’s mandatory here or not.’
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, said some manufacturers already offer this tech in UK-supplied cars ahead of regulations
Lawyer Nick Freeman, better known as Mr Loophole for his string of legal victories defending celebrities facing road traffic offences, believes ISA technology will be in UK cars over the next two years – though he says they will be ‘incredibly dangerous’ and ‘a needless distraction’, as there are ‘always circumstances where you need to briefly accelerate’.
‘To have a device which will automatically prevent the driver from being able to escape from danger – as well as the freedom to make decisions – is ridiculous,’ he told PA.
‘People should be allowed to drive. I’m not against safety devices but am against losing overall control.’
The UK’s reluctance to enforce the regulation follows comments made by Brexit Opportunities minister Jacob Rees-Mogg earlier this year that hinted at a Whitehall row over whether Britain should adopt the same rules on automatic speed limiters.
Quizzed in April about a rumoured consultation regarding the EU’s new vehicle safety measures – including a requirement for speed limiters to be fitted to cars – Mr Rees-Mogg intimated his fierce opposition to such a move.
‘It is not a policy that has received collective agreement,’ he told MPs.
The European Transport Safety Council has warned that the current minimum requirement for ISA could make the technology inaccurate and annoying for drivers
Safety council says EU’s minimum standard for Intelligent Speed Assistance systems could result in ‘inaccurate’ and ‘annoying’ tech
The European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) described the EU’s new General Safety Regulation as ‘a giant leap forward for vehicle safety in Europe’ and one that will ‘lead to thousands of lives saved in the future’.
However, it said minimum standards regarding ISA in particular do not go far enough and says it should be much stricter and evasive in order to make a real impact on reducing collisions.
It warned that the current rules could result in manufacturers building cars with ISA systems that have ‘limited safety benefits’ and ‘annoys drivers’.
It says the use of camera-based sign recognition cameras as the brains of the system could provide ‘inaccurate speed information’ that would then incorrectly trigger an unnecessary and ‘annoying audible beep’.
ETSC executive direction, Antonio Avenoso, said: ‘Despite this big win for road safety, there are a couple of own-goals.
‘Intelligent Speed Assistance, one of the life-saving systems with the most potential, has been severely weakened.
‘Vehicle safety is constantly moving forward, and there is no reason why these standards can’t be reviewed and updated in the near future. We think that is essential.’
Industry experts have also raised their concerns regarding the accuracy of the technology given the inconsistencies with road furniture and GPS signals.
Speed sign recognition cameras are not infallible and can make mistakes if they misread a sign that is worn, damaged or covered by overgrown trees and bushes, which could lead to dangerous mistakes being made on the road.
There could also be issues if there are no signs in place on certain stretches of road, which could confuse the tech, for instance on slip roads between motorways.
Issues could also arise due to poor GPS signals in rural parts of the UK, which means some important steps will need to be taken to ensure the technology behind ISA is 100 per cent reliable.
German automotive vehicle assessment specialist, ADAC, recently put ISA to the test in a Ford S-Max MPV and found that it was accurate for around 90 per cent of the time. However, it was not tested on UK roads, where signage and conditions are somewhat different to those on the continent.
The technology will also not be reactive to variable driving conditions, as Jack Cousens warns that drivers will need to remain alert and aware of their surroundings and weather.
He said: ‘ISA works across all speed limits, but is only an assistance tool to help drivers stay within the limit.
‘Drivers will still need to be aware of the speed limit, control their own speed and drive according to the conditions.
‘Just because you are on a motorway doesn’t mean you should still drive at 70mph if it’s pouring with rain.’
