In Europe they’re not just advising, warning or threatening drivers to obey speed limits, they are trying to make sure they do.
Intelligent Speed Assist systems, which not only warn drivers to slow down but can actually power down vehicles, must be installed in all new autos sold in the European Union.
Since 2022, all newly introduced car models in Europe had to have ISA, but since July 7 all newly manufactured vehicles were required to have them also.
With all the electronics in today’s cars and trucks, drivers already know when they are speeding.
Some vehicles automatically pump brakes when they’re going too fast, and almost all can maintain a set speed whether or not the driver has a foot on the gas pedal. So it wasn’t much of a stretch for manufacturers to design a system to slow down a vehicle whether the driver likes it or not.
“The objective is to protect Europeans against traffic accidents, poor air quality and climate change, empower them with new mobility solutions that match their changing needs, and defend the competitiveness of European industry,” said a statement issued by the European Union.
According to AutoWeek, a magazine for car lovers, the ISA systems work through traffic sign recognition and vehicle navigation systems. There are four ways they can work and manufacturers can choose which system they want for their vehicles.
The least disruptive are a cascaded acoustic warning and a cascaded vibrating warning. Next is an accelerator pedal with haptic feedback or a speed control function which gradually slows the vehicle. The first two options don’t actually affect speed and their duration is short so they don’t irritate the driver. The latter two will begin to slow down the car or truck, but even these can be overridden by a driver who merely increases pressure on the fuel pedal.
Since the new systems are so easy to ignore or override, they’re not likely to make much difference.
When I got my new car three years ago, I was rather unpleasantly surprised to find it had a mind of its own and let me know what it was thinking. Now I’ve learned to appreciate most of its independence. It doesn’t tell me to slow down, like the European systems will, but it fights me whenever I try to turn the wheel to change lanes without signaling first. The steering wheel resists turning, so I have to yank it in the direction I want.
I say unkind things to it, of course, but it does keep me mindful of my directional signal.
And the driver’s seat vibrates whenever the car thinks I am too close to something, a parked car perhaps or a passing bicyclist. When I’m backing out of a spot, the left side will vibrate when another vehicle or a pedestrian approaches from the left, and the right side will vibrate when someone is coming from that direction.
Most often I appreciate that warning, but it sure can get annoying when struggling to get out of a really tight parallel parking spot on a busy avenue.
Some critics in Europe are more than annoyed, however. They are outraged at what they call “intensive surveillance measures” that could lead to something called geofenced areas where cars cannot go faster than a prescribed limit, no matter the circumstances.
Drivers in the U.S. went wild in 1973 when 55 mph hour speed limits were set on federal highways and many drivers still don’t pay them much attention.
But that’s the secret to safety. It’s not the fancy gizmos in the vehicle. It’s the focused attention of the driver and just plain common sense.
A former assemblywoman from Jersey City, Joan Quigley is the president and CEO of North Hudson Community Action Corp.
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Publish date : 2024-10-01 03:45:00
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