Speed limiters mandatory in EU cars by 2022

Various vehicle safety measures have been given the green light by European policymakers, paving the way for speed limiters in cars by 2022. The European Parliament, Council and Commission have approved the measures, which means such technology as lane assist, drowsiness detection, advanced emergency braking and intelligent speed assistance (ISA – or speed limiters) are expected to be mandatory – if formal approval is granted - in new vehicles in three years’ time. EU commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska, res
March 28, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

Various vehicle safety measures have been given the green light by European policymakers, paving the way for speed limiters in cars by 2022.

The European Parliament, Council and Commission have approved the measures, which means such %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 link-external technology false https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/34588 false false%> as lane assist, drowsiness detection, advanced emergency braking and intelligent speed assistance (ISA – or speed limiters) are expected to be mandatory – if formal approval is granted - in new vehicles in three years’ time.

EU commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska, responsible for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, said: "Every year, 25,000 people lose their lives on our roads. The vast majority of these accidents are caused by human error. We can and must act to change this. With the new advanced safety features that will become mandatory, we can have the same kind of impact as when the safety belts were first introduced. Many of the new features already exist, in particular in high-end vehicles. Now we raise the safety level across the board, and pave the way for connected and automated mobility of the future."

The European General Safety Regulations have been welcomed by many road safety groups. In the UK, 491 TRL says they are predicted to save up to 25,000 lives and prevent 140,000 serious injuries in the next two decades.

“ISA alerts and prevents the driver from accelerating above the speed limit,” TRL says in a statement. “This is an important feature to influence driver behaviour and reduce driving speed. When a vehicle is even marginally speeding it can make the difference between a collision that is avoidable and a serious or fatal collision. Preventing a vehicle from speeding will also increase the effectiveness of all other safety measures in the European General Safety Regulations.”

The 776 Road Safety Foundation said: “We welcome these technologies with open arms.”

However, not everyone is so sure. UK motoring organisation, the AA, said the “best speed limiter is the driver’s right foot”.

Enforcement

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • ITS UK: freight experts call for technology to support deliveries
    March 5, 2018
    Members of ITS (UK)’s Freight Interest Group have raised concerns that relying on autonomous vehicles and platooning to provide future solutions may be diverting attention away from current technology which could help in the short-to-medium-term, at the Industry 4.0 Summit in Manchester. The group suggested that logistics efficiency could be improved by better communication with light goods vehicle drivers. Additionally, signal timing technology could decrease the number of stops that Heavy Goods Vehicles
    Read More
  • Hawaii wins more than $400,000 in EPA Grants
    November 27, 2018
    The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded $411,578 in Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) grants to Hawaii to help curb pollution from diesel vehicle sources. The EPA’s West Coast Collaborative administers the DERA programme. This partnership, which combines the EPA’s Pacific Southwest and Pacific Northwest Regions, utilises public and private funds in a bid to reduce emissions. The Hawaii Department of Health (HDOH) intends to use the grant to replace two diesel transit buses with batter
    Read More
  • Uber suspended from resuming Arizona self-driving tests
    March 28, 2018
    Arizona’s state governor Doug Ducey has ordered officials to suspend Uber’s right to test autonomous vehicles on local roads pending the outcome of inquiries by national transport safety regulations – in a report from the BBC. It follows a letter that Ducey sent to the car-hailing company in which he stated that there had been an unquestionable failure to make safety the top priority.
    Read More
  • Mobike e-fences prevent cyclists from illegal parking in Shanghai
    June 28, 2018
    Mobike has partnered with police in Shanghai to implement electronic ‘fences’ that prevent cyclists from parking around People’s Square in Lujiazui and other prohibited areas. The bike sharing company’s new app feature flags these locations up in grey to alert riders. Cyclists who try to park in these areas receive a text alert and an alarm and will lose Mobike points and their app credit rating will drop. Those who continually offend will be banned from using the service. Users can locate recommended pa
    Read More

Highlighted Content