Mandatory fitment of intelligent speed assistance is a logical move for road safety but driver technology education is still a critical need.
While new vehicle type approval regulations are coming that will mandate the fitment of additional safety devices on most new vehicles sold in the EU and the UK from 2024, DriveTech says drivers must not be forgotten in this process and must be made fully aware of the devices that will feature on new vehicles, as well as their benefits and practical use. This includes intelligent speed assistance, or speed limiters.
To provide further guidance for fleets, the road safety specialist has published a new white paper on the subject. The paper covers speed limiters and other additional safety devices to be included in the legislation, but concludes there are still risks associated with this development, most notably with the driver.
The paper, the latest in a series from DriveTech covering topical issues such as developments in ADAS and autonomous vehicles, also features a guest contribution from Dr Helen Wells, lecturer in criminology at Keele University and director of the Roads Policing Academic Network.
The paper also sets out the view that with these new compulsory safety measures comes the opportunity to raise the issue of lifelong driver training with clear intentions of ensuring road safety improves significantly as a result.
It continues: “As our vehicles become ever more complex and their safety features more intrusive, and as the pace of change of those features increases inexorably, it is time to open the debate about licensing arrangements for drivers. Many have felt for a long time that it is simply not sufficient to allow a driver to rely throughout their adult lives on a test they took, quite possibly, in their teens.”
The full white paper can be accessed and downloaded free from the DriveTech website: http://www.drivetech.co.uk/news-and-resources/mandatory-speed-limiter-fitment-in-vehicles
