Drivers given final warning as speed limiters fitted to cars in new law

Drivers have been given a final warning as mandatory speed limiters are set to be installed on all cars sold from July.

A new law introduced by the EU will make it a legal requirement for every car and van sold in the European Union to have a speed limiter installed in a bid to tackle speeding.

Although the law was created by the EU, the legislation states that it also applies to all cars sold in Europe, not just those sold in EU member states, so it still applies to the UK even though we’re no longer a member.

But because we have one month until the law comes in, this is your final chance to buy a car without a mandatory speed limiter.

It probably takes a couple of weeks to arrange, test drive and finance a car so you need to get moving to beat the deadline.

The new rule also applies to cars that have already been manufactured and are yet to be sold, so models currently on showroom floors will need to be retrofitted in order to be compliant from July 7 or they can’t be sold legally.

The devices must vibrate, make noises, and even slow down a vehicle automatically when it detects a speed limit being broken.

Drivers will be able to deactivate the limiters, but they’ll be instantly reactivated upon getting back in the car.

Pressing down forcefully on the accelerator will deactivate the automatic limiter, a bit like overriding cruise control. Although speeding is obviously illegal, there could be times when the limiter has picked up an incorrect limit such as on a recently altered road.

Graham Conway, Managing Director at Select Car Leasing has welcomed the new law but warned that it doesn’t mean people should care less about driving responsibly.

He said: “These new laws are hugely welcome in order to help combat speeding and dangerous driving.

“However, it will take years for these changes to be fully implemented in every vehicle on the road, as it will take a long time for cars purchased now to find their way into the ownership of the mass public, so sensible driving is always encouraged.

“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, although it’s important to note that the limiters can be manually overridden - which is useful in areas where the technology may not keep up with actual events on the road.”