“I’ve had it with speed limits! I’m putting my foot down!”-The Case for Making Speed Limiters Mandatory on Cars

Last month on the 6th of July it became compulsory for speed limiters to be fitted to all new vehicles manufactured in the European Union.

ISA, or Intelligent Speed Assistance to more technical folk, warns motorists, using GPS and traffic cameras, if they are speeding. And should said motorist fail to slow down, ISA can reduce engine power slowing the vehicle down.

Statistics from the EU, gathered by the Daily Express, suggest that the ISA system will cut motoring deaths across Europe by up to 30 per cent. With EU forecasters perhaps ambitiously predicting the technology will lead to zero road casualties by 2050 – which you and I can all agree can only be a good thing.

Since we famously decided to leave the European Union in 2016 at this point there are no plans to adopt similar legislation in the UK, however with around 2000 deaths from car accidents a year in the UK, is it time to seriously consider our current road safety measures?

Predictably, the prospect of the UK adopting widescale speed limiters has caused quite the stir online, with many arguing that such legislation impacts on our precious civil liberties – the right to drive as fast as one pleases.

Tongue and cheek aside, perhaps a more sensible argument is whether sometimes we do need to drive that little bit faster to avoid an oncoming accident. Do systems like the ISA, therefore, crucially take that control from drivers in decisive moments? Does legislation such as these encourage us as human beings to think less and less about the decisions we make, and is that necessarily a bad thing? Either way, the EU doesn’t think so.

Whatever your opinion on this, a decision on ISA is sure to be years away. So, you can still drive 40 down a 30 road when no one is watching. Although we at Ablemarsh don’t condone speeding – but be sure to let us know what you think on the debate in the comments!