The European Union has provisionally agreed upon a new rule that would make speed limiting technology mandatory on new cars sold in Europe starting 2022, according to CNN. The rules must still be formally approved by the European Parliament and member states to go into effect. The system would still apply in the UK no matter the end result of Brexit, according to the BBC.
Drivers will be manually allowed to override the system for a temporary length of time. The EU hasn’t mandated a particular type of technology, but rather that vehicles must fall within Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) standards. The EU uses ISA as a collective term for systems that can have various capabilities: to warn a driver when they are going faster than the speed limit; put pressure on the accelerator pedal when the speed limit is exceeded; or limits speed entirely.
Safety advocates praise the measure as an attempt to reduce the 25,000 deaths that occur on average on European roads every year. Most fatal accidents, the European Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska said, are caused by human error.
"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," Bieńkowska said.
Less pleased are hobby motorists, security buffs (the ISA system suggests use of GPS and digital maps to match a vehicle to the local speed limit) and some manufacturers. The European Automotive Manufacturers Association told CNN last year that it sees "many infrastructure-related issues holding back [ISA’s] widespread application."
Other manufacturers are ahead of the game. Volvo announced in early March that it would cap its cars’ speeds at 112 miles per hour and was exploring reducing speed near schools and hospitals.
