The European Commission is thinking about strengthening Directive 2002/85/EC on the installation and use of speed limitation devices for certain categories of vehicles and has just published the results of a study carried out by independent consultants. The study concludes that there is no need to change the current speed limits prescribed in the EU legislation – 90 km/h for heavy commercial vehicles and 100 km/h for buses. But it does suggest speed limitation devices for light commercial vehicles such as vans and equipping all commercial vehicles, light and heavy, with a speed limitation device.
This device, known as an Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) system, is a speed limiter that encourages drivers to respect speed limits. The limiter works based on a GPS system (location) along with a digital map, which includes the current speed limits. The “lenient” version warns the driver that he is going over the authorised speed limit, and it is up to the driver to change his behaviour. The “no-nonsense” version automatically slows the vehicle down. A third “middle” version exists, which exerts pressure on the accelerator pedal forcing the driver to counteract this pressure.
These systems were the topic of discussion at the beginning of September last when the British press had echoed the rumours about the Commission looking to enforce these devices on new cars. This rumour was denied by the Commission. However, it did not rule out prescribing the use of this device in commercial vehicles.
The study shows that the ISA system’s impact on road security is more significant than simply making the authorised speed limit stricter, particularly for the “middle” version of limiters, which forces the driver to intervene. Equipping light and heavy commercial vehicles with an ISA device like this would reduce by 25 per cent the fatal accidents involving these vehicles. In other words, if heavy goods vehicles and commercial vehicles were equipped with this device, 150 and 600 lives, respectively, would be saved a year within the EU. Lowering the speed limit to 80 km/h for heavy commercial vehicles and 90 km/h for buses would lead to a reduction of around five per cent of fatal accidents involving these vehicles.
In 2011, the European Parliament spoke in favour of these type of devices and called the Commission to submit proposals. Hence this study should be welcome.
In terms of enforcing speed limitation devices on light-duty vehicles, which was also recommended by the study, it would allow for a 16-28 per cent reduction of fatal road accidents involving these vehicles, corresponding to 40 to 70 fatal accidents a year.