No more speeding fines! But also: never again enjoy driving when the road is empty. What about the Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA), which will be mandatory in new cars from July 2022?
ISA stands for Intelligent Speed Adaptation. Based on your GPS location and cameras in the car that recognize road signs, ISA compares the speed of your car with the prevailing speed limit. The system will be mandatory across the European Union on every new car model that comes on the market from July 2022.
ISA and black box
ISA works with a black box, which, just like with aircraft, can be used for investigations after serious accidents. This way the police can see if you sometimes drove too fast.
The aim is to improve road safety, with an average of 500 road deaths per week in the EU. What does this mean? That you better sell your Porsche, vvvI because you can never drive too fast again?
ISA warns, but does not intervene
Don’t worry, there isn’t much going on. If you drive a new car with ISA on board from July 2022, a warning beep will sound if you drive faster than allowed. In addition, the fuel supply is subtly throttled until you reach the applicable speed limit. If you do step on the accelerator, you will experience back pressure.
But you can switch off the system just as easily, because you can pedal through the resistance. ISA therefore gives urgent advice, but the director determines whether he follows it. You do have to switch off the system with every new ride, because it is automatically ‘on’.
What does ISA add to traffic sign recognition?
ISA works much more accurately than the security systems we already know. At least that’s the idea. Current traffic sign recognition sometimes overlooks a sign, or does not recognize captions such as ‘on wet road surface’.
You can’t always rely on your navigation system either, because it often uses outdated information. For example, many systems still indicate that you can drive 130 km/h on certain highways during the day. Moreover, new roads are not always included, so that the system thinks that you are plowing through a meadow at 130 km/h.
The digital information used by ISA should in any case be correct 95 percent of the time. Not exactly flawless, but the technology will undoubtedly develop.
Never a speeding fine again
ISA is nothing more than an extra addition to the safety systems we already know, such as adaptive cruise control, blind spot warning and traffic sign recognition. Maybe it’s a bit more compelling. If you do follow the advice, you will never have a traffic fine again. But it is still possible to drive as fast as you want … By the way, the system will only be mandatory on new cars. Your classic or youngtimer is therefore protected from beeps…