Drivers 'modify' cars to escape impact of new EU driving law
Speed limiters are now a standard feature on all new cars, following the introduction of a new European Union rule that impacts UK drivers. The new regulation, which came into effect earlier this year, requires almost all UK cars to be fitted with speed limiters, marking another significant change for our roads.
All new cars being launched or already launched in the EU must be equipped with an Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA). Chris Adams, Group Operations Director at Brindley Group, confirmed that EU limiters were now operational.
He explained: "Unlike manual speed limiters that are on higher-end trim levels, the EU-mandated limiters are active when the car is turned on and apply a limit automatically by using GPS to detect the speed limit on the road you're on."
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Chris further added: "The effectiveness of each strategy will be assessed so that the most effective becomes mandatory in the future. Drivers will be able to turn off the ISA manually, but it will reactivate every time the car is turned on, much like Start-Stop technology."
This means any existing unregistered cars on forecourts will have to be retrofitted with a speed limiter before they can be sold. This mandate follows the European Commission's legislation that made it a legal requirement for all new vehicles sold in Europe to be fitted with a speed limiter from July, reports Birmingham Live.
The Intelligent Speed Assistant (ISA) technology, a speed limiter, uses GPS data and/or traffic-sign-recognition cameras to determine the maximum speed allowed in an area. It then restricts the engine's power and the vehicle's speed to that limit.
The speed limiter will issue haptic, audio, and visual warnings until you start driving within the speed limits. The system can be overridden by pressing hard on the accelerator, but it will reactivate every time the car is started.
At present, the regulation allows you to switch off the speed limiter. However, the ISA will be enabled when you restart your car, so it cannot be permanently disabled.
Some may consider modifying their cars by having the speed limiter removed.