Speed limiters mandatory in all European cars by 2022

All new cars in the EU will be fitted with speed-limiting devices within three years, after a group of key European government officials voted overnight in favour of making a large number of safety measures mandatory on new cars by 2022.

Among the measures set to become law are the compulsory fitment of AEB and lane-departure-warning systems, plus driver-drowsiness and attention warnings.

But the one system on the approved list that will change driving forever, and the one opposed by both car companies and enthusiasts, is Intelligent Speed Assistance.

ISA works by using traffic-sign-recognition cameras, or GPS data, to determine the maximum speed where you are driving, and then automatically restrict engine power and your speed to the prevailing limit.

The push for this speed-limiting technology is being spearheaded by the European Transport Safety Council, which says the limiters will reduce crashes by 30 per cent, and save 25,000 lives within 15 years of coming into force.

What is slightly worrying is that the ETSC has only recommended a “full on/off switch” - ie the ability to override the system by pushing the accelerator through some kind of detente - during the compulsory roll-out of the technology ”to aid public acceptance at introduction”.

The safety body has indicated it will push for even stricter rules in the future, which would seem to indicate systems that are impossible to override.

The ETSC has also suggested that “If the driver continues to drive above the speed limit for several seconds, the system should sound a warning for a few seconds and display a visual warning until the vehicle is operating at or below the speed limit again.”

And, worryingly, mandatory data loggers would also be fitted to all new cars under the ETSC’s program.

This means that, theoretically, even in a Porsche, if you exceed the speed limit at any time your car will, by law, beep and chime and flash lights at you until you stop doing it.

And a data logger will record the fact that you did speed, for reasons that may not be in your best interests.

Matthew Avery, director of research at Thatcham Research, said the vote result was "great news for road safety”.

"It's encouraging that a lot of the safety technologies proposed are already fitted as standard on many new cars. In fact, it's not now impossible to get a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating without AEB fitted as standard,” he said.

”We would hope the proposed timeline of within three years could be more ambitious.”

Avery also reprised the idea of intelligent speed assistance systems but added that the EU had ruled such systems must be overridable, saying: "Drivers like the vehicle to know what the set limit is, but also like to have ultimate control of their vehicle's speed".

You really have to wonder how the Germans are going to respond to these rules.

But you don’t have to wonder how warmly Australian safety authorities will welcome them, because we asked Samantha Cockfield, lead director road safety for Victoria’s peak safety body, the Transport Accident Commission (TAC).

Her organisation would support “mandating safety technology that can help people drive safely and reduce the number of people killed and injured on our roads”.

“Speed remains one of the biggest factors in crashes on Victorian roads and while it is not always the cause of a crash, the speed of a vehicle at impact will always determine how badly people are hurt as a result,” Ms Cockfield added.

“Technology such as ISA, when supported by appropriate setting of speed limits, can help people to slow down and drive at speeds that are safer, which will go a long way towards reducing deaths and serious injuries on our roads.”

Do we need to be saved from ourselves with speed limiting technology? Tell us what you think in the comments below.