UPDATE on original story below:
The EU Parliament Transport Committee has clarified that it regards a speed limiting device as one that's there "to assist the driver in observing the appropriate speed for the road" and says that the proposed device is about "awareness" rather than acting as a throttle governor. Parliament's rapporteur on the proposal Róza Thun said: "ISA will provide a driver with feedback, based on maps and road sign observation, always when speed limit is exceeded. This will not only make all of us safer, but also help drivers to avoid speeding tickets."
Now, that seems to fall short of the earlier predictions of a device that would automatically throttle a car back to the posted speed limit, a system that already exists as an optional extra in many current cars. The EU also said that the speed limiter was part of a 30-strong package of proposals that are still to be fully ratified into law. Speaking to The Irish Times, a spokesperson for the EU Parliament office in Dublin said: "The provisional agreement still needs to be confirmed by member states' ambassadors and, on the 2nd of April, by the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee. It will then be put to the full Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers for final approval." Plenty of hoops remain yet un-jumped, then. A warning rather than a limiter rather changes the tone of the debate over the proposals.
Nevertheless, there are still criticisms of even that more basic system, with many pointing out that they're prone to mis-reading the limit, incorrectly picking up temporary limits, and that many Irish speed limits are inconsistently applied - stretches of dual carriageway with a 60km/h limit compared to a tiny boreen with grass up the middle bearing an 80km/h or even a 100km/h limit. Others have noted that several studies have flagged up evidence that drivers tend to become lazy and complacent when provided with such limiting systems, assuming that the car is taking control and that they are driving safely if they're driving on the electronic limiter.
Our original story:
From 2022 onwards, all cars may need to be fitted with intelligent speed limiters. These limiters will use both cameras to read traffic signs and GPS location data to restrict a car's speed to the locally posted limit. It's part of a raft of new road safety legislation that also includes driver drowsiness and attention monitors, accident data recorders and new rules for the construction of trucks that will allow drivers to more easily see pedestrians and cyclists in the blind spots.
The fitting of speed limiters has drawn a mixed response. EU Commissioner Eliżbieta Bieńkowska, responsible for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, said: "Every year, 25,000 people lose their lives on our roads. The vast majority of these accidents are caused by human error. We can and must act to change this. With the new advanced safety features that will become mandatory, we can have the same kind of impact as when the safety belts were first introduced. Many of the new features already exist, in particular in high-end vehicles. Now we raise the safety level across the board, and pave the way for connected and automated mobility of the future."
The AA has taken a different view, though, saying that improving driver training standards would produce better results than using electronic intervention. AA president Edmund King said: "There is no doubt that new in-car technology can save lives and there is a good case for autonomous emergency braking to be fitted in all cars. When it comes to intelligent speed adaptation, the case is not so clear. The best speed limiter is the driver's right foot and the driver should use it to do the right speed in the right situation. The right speed is often below the speed limit, for example outside a school with children about, but with ISA there may be a temptation to go at the top speed allowed which may not be appropriate. Sometimes a little speed also helps to keep safe on the road, for example over-taking a tractor on a country road or joining a motorway. Dodgem cars are all fitted with speed limiters but they still seem to crash."
Under the proposed legislation, a driver would be able to override the electronic speed limiter by simply pressing harder on the accelerator, but that would then of course be recorded by the car's 'black box' data recorder. Many are expressing significant concerns over the privacy and civil liberties aspect of these systems.