UK drivers have been urged to be aware of a major driving law change coming into effect today.
From today (Wednesday, July 6) cars will be installed with a speed limiter, the change has been pushed through to combat speeding across the UK.
It means all new vehicles will be legally required to be fitted with the new technology which will keep drivers withing the speed limit.
Jonathan White of the National Accident Helpline said: “The new speed limiters, which are expected to be introduced on cars that are sold from July 6 2022, will hopefully see new drivers sticking to the recommended speed limits.
“The technology is designed to warn drivers when they are approaching the speed limit. If the driver doesn’t slow down, the speed limiter reduces the engine’s power and the vehicle’s speed."
The driving law change will save 25,000 lives in the UK
The Department for Transport (DfT) said new EU rules would provisionally apply to the UK despite Brexit.
It is claimed the changes could help save more than 25,000 lives and avoid at least 140,000 serious injuries by 2038.
Road safety charity Brake described it as a “landmark day for road safety”, but the AA said the “best speed-limiter is the driver’s right foot”.
Senior Editor at CarSite, Dan Powell, said: "Intelligent speed assistance is an important step towards self-driving cars, but some motorists will understandably be concerned about the introduction of this potentially intrusive new tech. Speed limiters are nothing new, they’ve been fitted to cars and vans for more than 30 years.
“However, ISA will bring this to a new level by taking proactive steps to prevent the driver from exceeding the speed limit. While some people will be understandably nervous about the mandatory introduction of ISA, it’s important to note that it can be manually overridden.
“Some cars already feature this tech already and feedback from owners is generally positive.“
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