Starting from July 7th, all new vehicles sold in mainland Europe must be equipped with Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) systems. ISA, also known as speed limit reminder system, helps identify speed limit signs and reminds drivers to comply with speed limits when speeding, reducing road accidents and ultimately decreasing casualties. This mandatory standard stems from legislation passed by the European Union in 2019, requiring new vehicle models sold in the EU from July 2022, and in the entire Europe from July 2024, to be mandatory installed with ISA. This includes passenger cars, commercial vehicles, public transportation, trucks, and other vehicle categories. The ISA system is built into the vehicle, using cameras, GPS data, and speed limit sign map databases to actively identify road speed limits and determine if the vehicle is speeding. If speeding, the system will visually remind, sound warn, or gently vibrate the steering wheel on the dashboard or screen to prompt the driver to slow down. If the driver ignores the warning, the system can limit engine power, “forcing” the vehicle’s speed to drop below the speed limit.
Drivers can manually deactivate the ISA system, but the system will be reactivated every time the vehicle is restarted. The European Transport Safety Council has stated that speed has always been considered one of the three main factors leading to road traffic deaths. The ISA system, through speed limit reminders, can reduce traffic accidents by 30% and casualties by 20%, as part of the wider goal of “Road Zero Deaths by 2050”. A study in Norway in 2014 confirmed that the ISA system is “most effective” in saving lives. Before legislation was passed, ISA had been tested in ten European countries including Austria, Belgium, and Denmark. According to test results published in the Netherlands, after vehicles were equipped with ISA, the number of hospitalizations due to traffic accidents decreased by 15% and the number of deaths decreased by 21%. In addition, speed limits can reduce the rate of traffic accidents and help lower the probability of road congestion, saving commuting time and reducing the time people spend “stuck” on the road.
Currently, ISA is being tested in many EU member states, drivers can quickly adapt to this technology, as it helps them avoid speeding tickets, most drivers welcome this technology. Recently, the American Highway Safety Insurance Association conducted a survey on the ISA system, interviewing 1802 drivers, the survey showed that 60% of drivers can accept speeding reminders, about 50% of drivers do not mind vehicles that increase throttle or automatically limit speed, additionally, about 70% of respondents said that if insurance companies can reduce premiums for not speeding, they would want to use ISA on their next vehicle. IIHS President David Harkey believes that the survey results show that American drivers are willing to change their driving habits to make roads safer. Data shows that over a quarter of traffic accident deaths in the US are related to speeding, with over 12,000 deaths in 2022, AAA Traffic Safety Foundation data shows that about 50% of drivers admit to speeding at least 15 mph over the past month.
Currently, American cars only have speed limiters, which are useless for most road safety. However, California is considering a traffic safety bill involving the ISA system. If passed, all passenger cars, commercial trucks, and buses in the state will be required to have the ISA system. Vehicles will sound and display alerts when exceeding 10 miles per hour or posted speed limits, reminding drivers to slow down. The California State Senate recently passed the bill with a vote of 22 to 13. While the bill only applies to cars manufactured and sold in California, as the state with the largest population in the US, it could influence car manufacturers to expand this standard nationwide.