This is an assistant that should allow drivers to better respect speed limits. Behind its acronym, “ISA”, hides a new driving aid that is gradually becoming widespread in Europe.
In fact, Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA in English, or AIV in French, intelligent speed adaptation system) will be mandatory in all new cars from July 2024, after having been installed in all new models since July 2022, as specified by the government. .fr website.
The purpose of this “super speed limiter”, as our colleagues from caradisiac: better inform the driver about speed limits and help them respect them.
Camera and GPS to check the maximum authorized speed
Its operation is simple, based on a camera and/or the vehicle’s GPS. This super speed limiter compares data such as the speed indicated on speed limit signs or GPS map data with the actual speed of the vehicle.
“However, it is clear that systems that combine a camera system, the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and updated digital maps are considered the most efficient and reliable in a real-world situation,” states the delegated regulation (EU). 2021/1958 of the Commission.
If the driver drives above this speed, an audible or light warning on the dashboard, depending on the model, must notify the driver. What until now was an option for well-equipped models has become a prerequisite for new models (and will therefore be a prerequisite for all new cars in the summer).
Towards an automatic reduction in vehicle speed?
What happens if the driver continues to exceed the speed limit? If we are to believe the text published in the Official Journal of the European Union on June 23, 2021, the system can be programmed to reduce the speed of the vehicle, for example by imposing resistance to the accelerator pedal, to help the driver reduce the speed of your vehicle naturally, specifies the European Road Safety Charter. But the text seems to leave control to the manufacturers on this last point.
This is confirmed by Peugeot, with an overspeed alert, which will only be expressed through an audible and visual signal and in no case through a tightening of the accelerator pedal or other action. A system that has already existed since April 2023 in the 508 and that will be generalized in the rest of the range starting this summer of 2024.
On other brands, however, this type of system can have a direct influence on speed: when adaptive cruise control is activated, the speed can be automatically reduced if a speed limit sign is detected. The problem, on the highway for example, is sometimes that an exit sign is detected, with a slowdown of the vehicle that can be surprising, especially if you are driving in the left lane, and that must be corrected by stepping on the accelerator again. or reading the governor speed set point. Fortunately, you can disable this feature, but it comes back every time you start it.
This system is also not an autonomous driving system, in particular because the signals could be corrupted and therefore difficult for the system to read or the map data could be out of date in the GPS. Therefore, the driver will always remain the owner of the vehicle and, therefore, ultimately responsible, as specified in the text.
“The basic principle should be that the driver is always responsible for compliance with applicable traffic regulations and that the ISA system is a driver assistance system to alert the driver, whenever possible and appropriate,” we can read. The AIV can also be deactivated when starting, like start&stop or other driving aids.
The generalization of this intelligent speed limiter is taking place within the framework of a broad plan supported by the European Union to improve road safety, “Vision Zero”. According to estimates presented by the European Parliament in a press release, the super speed limiter alone should reduce the number of deaths by 20% on European roads.
Source: BFM TV
