Putting tech brakes on hi-speeding vehicles across Europe, all new cars in the European Union (EU) will now be required to come fitted with anti-speeding technology called intelligent speed assistance, or ISA, as part of an EU regulation that went into effect last week.
Under the new regulation, auto manufacturers must implement one of several ISA tech options that will kick into gear when a driver goes over the speed limit, reports CNET.
The car can alert the driver with a visual warning followed by an acoustic or vibrating warning; the gas pedal can gently push back on the driver's foot, or the car can automatically reduce speed. The driver can override the latter two functions, the EU said, by pushing slightly harder on the gas pedal, the report said.
“The objective is to protect Europeans against traffic accidents, poor air quality and climate change, empower them with new mobility solutions that match their changing needs, and defend the competitiveness of European industry,” the European Commission was quoted as saying.
Some vehicles already include warnings for speeding, but the driver must manually set them up. The EU regulation requires the tech to work automatically. The nonprofit European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), which advocates for road safety measures in the EU, said it welcomes the new regulation but that the minimum standard of a beeping sound is annoying to drivers and inadequate for safety.
Also, ETSC said, cars could gather inaccurate speed information if they are equipped with systems that determine speed limits only by using cameras to analyse signage and lack a digital map of speed limits.
