In July this year, the ‘Intelligent Speed Assistant’ will become mandatory in new cars in the EU. It kicks into action when you drive too fast. Parliamentary questions were asked about the extent to which the ISA may intervene. Minister Harbers (VVD) creates clarity.
It was recently laid down in European legislation that new cars must be equipped with an Intelligent Speed Assistant from 6 July 2022. Cars with such a system must alert the driver to exceeding the speed limit. Some new cars already do that, for example if you have a car with traffic sign recognition, but that will be mandatory. The introduction of ISA raises questions in the House of Representatives. JA21 member of parliament Nicki Pouw-Verweij proposed a series parliamentary questions about ISA to Minister Mark Harbers (Infrastructure & Water Management) to gain clarity about the precise operation.
Harbers puts first that in practice ISA will not mean that you can never drive faster than the maximum speed with a car with that system. According to Harbers, you receive an audible and/or visual signal if you drive too fast, but the car will not limit the speed itself: “The driver determines the speed himself. If a manufacturer chooses to go a step further, and for example If you use the accelerator pedal that gives back pressure when reaching the limit, the driver must always be able to intervene himself.” According to the minister, cars from before the introduction of ISA will not yet have to be equipped with such a system: “It is not obvious that ISA will be mandatory in the future on vehicles that are not currently equipped with this system.”
Whether ISA works properly depends, among other things, on the registration of traffic signs and/or correct data in navigation systems. It is possible that this does not appear to work flawlessly in practice and a margin of error has been agreed for this, according to Harbers. “Together with the industry, it has been stated that ISA must apply the correct limit for at least 90 percent of the time. It is up to the industry to determine whether they realize this with cameras and software-based sign recognition, a digital speed map or a combination of these. is obliged to make current speed limits per road section available in a national speed map. Producers can use these or use maps from third parties,” the minister clarifies.
Harbers does not agree with Pouw-Verweij’s statement that such a margin of error presents an unacceptable risk: “Because the system does not physically limit the speed, the risks are small. The driver can drive faster and is always responsible for the choice of the speed. This ISA is not a limiter but a driver aid.” According to the minister, the deployment of ISA will also only focus on: real timesituations. Data is not collected for other purposes and, for example, an additional levy if people are speeding is not an issue: “It is not appropriate to use the ISA for tax purposes. ISA does not record data, so it is not suitable either.”
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl