From July 6, 2022, all new cars sold in Europe will be fitted with a speed limiter as a legal requirement
All newly released cars will be legally required to be fitted with a speed limiter from July 6,
2022.
The Department for Transport (DfT) said new EU rules would provisionally apply to the UK
despite Brexit.
It is claimed that the changes could potentially help save more than 25,000 lives and avoid
at least 140,000 serious driving-related injuries by 2038.
Road safety charity Brake described it as a “landmark day for road safety”, but the AA said
the “best speed-limiter is the driver’s right foot”.
Jonathan White, Legal and Compliance Director at National Accident Helpline, said: “The
new speed limiters, which are expected to be introduced on cars that are sold from July 6
2022, will hopefully see new drivers sticking to the recommended speed limits.
“The technology is designed to warn drivers when they are approaching the speed limit. If
the driver doesn’t slow down, the speed limiter reduces the engine’s power and the vehicle’s
speed”.
The software, called Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA), is already implemented by some car
manufacturers, such as Ford, Mercedes, and Renault, according to the BMF, but will
become mandatory for all new cars.
Dan Powell, Senior Editor at CarSite, said existing use of the technology has been “generally
positive” but acknowledges that some drivers will have doubts.
He said: “Intelligent speed assistance is an important step towards self-driving cars, but
some motorists will understandably be concerned about the introduction of this potentially
intrusive new tech”.
