New speed limit law being introduced for 'all' cars in 72 hours time

Speed limiters will be rolled out in the UK on cars in 72 hours. The new law will mean every car sold after July 7 must have a mandatory speed limiter fitted in the car as part of a push in the European Union to curb road deaths and make roads safer.

The Department for Transport has commissioned research to look at the benefits and implications of introducing such technology in Great Britain, with a response to the new ISA systems expected "in due course".

Yousif Al-Ani, principal engineer - ADAS at automotive risk intelligence company Thatcham Research, commented on the upcoming rules. Yousif said that crash avoidance was the future of automotive safety.

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He added: "The UK is yet to sign up to GSR2 which vehicle manufacturers will adhere to across Europe. The technology mandated by this directive is already found in most new cars and the UK could be at risk of falling behind in automotive safety by not adopting it.

"As ADAS is increasingly fitted to cars, vehicle manufacturers will need to address concerns from drivers that these systems, such as Emergency Lane Keeping Systems, interfere with their driving experience." And Graham Conway, Managing Director at Select Car Leasing has welcomed the new law too.

But he warned that it doesn’t mean people should care less about driving responsibly. He said: “These new laws are hugely welcome in order to help combat speeding and dangerous driving. However, it will take years for these changes to be fully implemented in every vehicle on the road, as it will take a long time for cars purchased now to find their way into the ownership of the mass public, so sensible driving is always encouraged.

“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, although it’s important to note that the limiters can be manually overridden - which is useful in areas where the technology may not keep up with actual events on the road.”