Urgent drivers warning as major law change coming in just HOURS will see all new cars fitted with speed limiters
ALL cars sold in the UK will need to be fitted with speed limiters under new law coming into effect imminently, motorists have been warned.
From Sunday, any car or van up for sale in dealerships will be required to install the slow-down devices dubbed Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA).
Upon detecting a broken speed limit, ISA can vibrate, make noise and automatically slow the vehicle down.
It comes as a European Union regulation that still applies to Brits despite Brexit.
The EU in 2022 passed a law requiring speed limiters to motors to cut down road deaths.
While it is a European law in origin and the UK has opted out, the tech will likely be fitted to any car sold here because it is inefficient for brands to design cars differently for the UK and EU markets.
Even motors already in showrooms will have to be taken back into the garage to have the devices installed.
ISA can be deactivated, however it reactivates whenever drivers hop back in the car, so would need to be constantly switched off.
But Brits have been urged not to give into the temptation of deactivating their speed limiters to help reduce road deaths.
Bolt Burdon Kemp senior associate Ben Pepper said: “A third of road fatalities are caused by excessive speed, and the limiters should help reduce collisions.
“However, it will be possible to deactivate them, meaning it could have little impact on injuries and fatalities caused by speeding.
“UK drivers are still impacted by this EU law change as many vehicles in the UK are made in Europe, and likewise, UK manufacturers are producing cars suitable for the EU market.
“Any car sold from 7 July, will need to have the Intelligent Speed Assistance fitted.
“Drivers would be wise to use the speed limiter and not try to override the system to reduce the risk of causing harm to themselves and other road-users.”
The law expert added that courts would now be likely to consider whether limiters were switched off when dealing with cases of excessive speed causing injury or death.
He said: “I would expect to see cases involving injuries and deaths caused by excessive speed in new vehicles take account of whether limiters were switched off too.
The legal firm says it will lobby the new Labour government to enact more road safety regulations.