A coalition of organisations including ECF has written to EU Member States to raise serious concerns about the draft technical specifications for Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA), a mandatory new safety technology for new vehicles due to be introduced from 2022. 

Excessive speed is one of the biggest killers on our roads and a major danger to cyclists, which creates an unwelcoming environment on our roads. Around a third of fatal collisions involve at least one party driving at an inappropriate speed, with cyclists and pedestrians being particularly susceptible. The European Union concluded a piece of legislation last year updating the Type Approval procedures for all motor vehicles, making a series of vehicle safety measures mandatory for all motor vehicles, including Intelligent Speed Assistance. However,  the implementing legislation must clearly communicate to manufacturers and authorities what exactly is to be tested and how.  

The European Commission has been assigned to write this implementing legislation for Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) and a current draft seeks to allow a cascading auditory alarm as the sole assisting system. Given the ease with which a system could be turned off, we believe that this would not be an “appropriate and effective feedback” for maintaining speed limit as it is required by the legislation. It is a much less effective system than the one envisaged in the legislation passed last year. 

This system would only alert drivers when they are going over the speed limit, rather than ‘assisting’ through feedback through the accelerator or limiting engine torque.

The coalition call on the EU Member States to push the European Commission to provide a higher safety standard, and to direct the Commission to do this at the upcoming Member States meeting of experts, to be held by the European Commission on October 8th. 

The full letter can be found here and ECF position paper here.