Drivers who speed will be slowed down by EU car tech

CARS will beep, vibrate or slow down if drivers are speeding under new mandatory safety technology that comes into effect this summer.

From July 6, new vehicles sold in the European Union and Northern Ireland will be fitted with intelligent speed assistance (ISA) to prevent accidents. Although the UK has opted out, meaning it will not be a requirement on British roads, the technology will still be installed in most cars, and drivers can choose to switch it off on a daily basis.

Steve Gooding, the director of the RAC Foundation, an independent research organisation, told The Sunday Times: “I think many motorists will tire of switching off ISA and they will just learn to live with it.”

Mr Gooding said it would take autonomy away from drivers, with cars increasingly deciding what drivers can and can’t do, and was the beginning of the end of people choosing cars based on top speed.

ISA has a forward-facing camera that can recognise speed limit signs and is integrated with GPS mapping data so the car always knows what limit applies to its location. When fitted, the technology will send a warning beep or the steering wheel will vibrate when drivers pass the speed limit. If the driver does not take action, the accelerator will ease up, reducing the speed to keep in line with the limit.

Manufacturers including Ford have been offering ISA as an option on new cars since 2015, and it has been mandatory on all new cars sold in Europe since 2022, but could be switched off.

The European Transport Safety Council said that while it took drivers a short time to adjust to the technology, the majority saw it as a positive step. It also helps drivers avoid speeding tickets.

Leeds University calculated that Britain could see up to 12 per cent reduction in injuries from road accidents, equating to thousands of people walking away from collisions unharmed or avoiding crashes altogether.

The European Transport Safety Council has also calculated it could reduce deaths by 20 per cent.

There are roughly 1,700 deaths on British roads annually, and the figures suggest that if the technology was adopted across the board in the UK it could save 340 lives.