Mandatory speed limiters on new cars: What and why?

Speed limiters are already mandatory for some vehicles in the UK including buses, minibuses, limos and some HGVs.

Transcript

00:00It's really important for drivers to understand this change that's coming in.

00:05The technology won't apply the brakes.

00:06What it will do is it will gradually ease off the accelerator effectively, reduce engine

00:12power in a petrol or diesel car, reduce motor power in an electric vehicle to bring you

00:17back down to within that speed limit again.

00:19But like I said, it doesn't cause the brakes to be applied, but I think it's still an important

00:23piece of new technology that every driver needs to be aware of.

00:26Every vehicle manufacturer does things slightly differently.

00:28Some big manufacturers have actually already introduced the system into their cars and

00:33have sold them in the UK for a number of years, so some people might be familiar with it.

00:36There are usually fairly easy ways of switching it off if you want to, but it will only be

00:41temporarily switched off.

00:44Every time you start the car again, the system will kick in again, and that's because the

00:48people behind this move, which is basically the European Union and a lot of road safety

00:52bodies right across Europe, want to encourage drivers to keep within the limit as far as

00:56possible to reduce road deaths across the continent.

00:59That's the same here in the UK as well.

01:01Us here at the RAC, certainly not standing in the way of this new technology, I think

01:05it can deliver some real benefits to drivers and road users as well.

01:09There are other elements, what was important to realise, if drivers with cars fitted with

01:14these systems need to accelerate briefly for a short time, for instance, perhaps to move

01:19out the way of a hazard that's in front of them, by pushing hard on the accelerator,

01:24you will be able to momentarily switch it off, but again, only for a very short period,

01:29then the intelligent speed assistance system will once again kick in, and again, will start

01:34to make sure that people stick within the limit again.

01:36I think the really important thing for drivers to remember as well is that speed limits are

01:39there for a reason.

01:40They are limits.

01:41They're not targets.

01:42They are the maximum speed any of us should be driving, and in many cases, there's probably

01:48very few, if any good reasons why drivers might be exceeding limits in the first place.

01:53This new technology will just be that extra nudge that perhaps some of us need to remember

01:57what the limit is and to stick within it.