From July 6th all newly launched vehicles, sold in Europe, will be fitted with intelligent speed assist technology (ISA) so what does this mean for drivers and crucially road safety asks Geraldine Herbert
1. All newly launched vehicles i.e. new models of car, van, bus and lorry sold in Europe, will be fitted with intelligent speed assist technology (ISA) from July 6th. It won’t be until July 2024 that the requirement will extend to all new cars.
2. Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) is a technology that can automatically adjust the speed of your car according to the current speed limit.
3. ISA uses GPS data and camera recognition to identify the road you’re travelling on and will automatically adjust your speed within the limit e.g if you’re driving on the M50, the ISA will limit your speed to a maximum of 120km/h.
4. Car Manufacturers can choose one of four options for ISA – Two of these systems provide short audible warnings or vibrations when the speed limit is exceeded, alerting the driver without distracting them while the other two options directly intervene when the driver is going too fast, either gently pushing the accelerator back or automatically regulating speed. In December 2025 the data will be assessed and decisions made as to what is the most effective system.
5. The driver can override the system at anytime by simply applying their foot to the accelerator pedal.
6. The European Transport Safety Council reckon that ISA technology alone, if it were fitted to all cars on the road in this form, could cut deaths by 20 percent.
7. The technology is also likely to reduce fuel consumption and emissions improving overall air quality.
Geraldine Herbert
5th July, 2022
RT 
