Your fleet might change drastically in the near future, thanks to the looming possibility of speed-limiting tech becoming mandatory in all new UK cars, under government plans to fall in line with a European Union ruling.
Ministers are set to announce consultation on a range of vehicle safety measures that reduce engine power or set off alarms if drivers exceed the speed limit.
The measures would be introduced for safety reasons but are likely to be backed by environmental campaigners pushing for lower speeds to reduce emissions. They are the latest sign of a growing crackdown on speeding, with police forces increasingly enforcing 60mph speed limits on long stretches of new smart motorways.
If you’re a fleet manager, this might sound like great news – ensuring your drivers aren’t speeding will boost fleet safety, as well as improving fuel economy, but the changes remain controversial.
On Friday night, Tory MPs suggested the “Big Brother in your cockpit” proposals were further evidence of an “anti-driver campaign”.
The measures include so-called intelligent speed assistance (ISA), which relies on a combination of GPS tracking and cameras on the vehicle to assess the local limit.
Manufacturers can choose from a range of responses to drivers creeping over the limit, from an alarm system similar to seatbelt alerts to mechanisms that reduce engine power or push back on the pedal. Drivers can override the system, but the technology will reactivate every time the car is started.
Experts warned that the system can fail when there are temporary speed restrictions or unclear road signs that could cause drivers to speed unintentionally if they are relying on the inbuilt ISA device.
However, manufacturers including Citroen, Ford, and Jaguar have already started including the technology in some of their cars.
Edmund King, the president of the AA, warned of chaos if the speed limits on the roads were changed and the system was not updated.
He said: “The speed limits have to be totally accurate because the car is reacting to the speed limit. If you’ve got the wrong speed limit in the digital system, it might slow you to the wrong speed or allow you to speed to the wrong speed.”
After lobbying from car manufacturers, the EU softened initial plans to make the more stringent ISA system, which cuts engine power once the speed limit has been reached, mandatory. Such a system, which can be overridden for a brief time by a driver pushing hard on the accelerator, has been shown to reduce road deaths by up to 20 per cent.
The Department for Transport said no decisions had been made on which safety regulations the UK would follow, but industry experts said diverging from the EU rules would be disastrous for manufacturers.
“The UK’s departure from the EU provides us with the platform to capitalise on our regulatory freedoms,” a department spokesman said. “We’re currently considering the vehicle safety provisions included in the EU’s General Safety Regulation and will implement requirements that are appropriate for Great Britain and improve road safety.”
Mike Hawes, the chief executive of the Society of Motoring Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), welcomed measures to further improve the UK’s record as it has some of the safest roads in the world.
“SMMT and its members look forward to contributing to the UK Government consultation on how these measures will be rolled out in this country,” he said. However, he added that diverging from the EU regulations would be bad for the industry given the close ties between the two.
Research by Imperial College London found that lower speed limits give “clear benefits to driving style and associated particulate emissions”. In a separate analysis, Transport for London was satisfied that lower speed limits “will not have an adverse impact on the environment or air quality”.
IAM RoadSmart has previously welcomed additional EU safety proposals, with the caveat that driver training must play a key role – saying in 2018 that a ‘huge opportunity’ had been missed by not specifically including enhancements to driver training in the package of proposals.
As the law changes to include newer technology, drivers have a lot to learn if they want to adapt and stay safe. If you want your drivers to be as safe as they can be, a Vehicle Familiarisation training course can be a huge help. Get in touch to find out more.
