New beeping noises will now be heard on all new cars. Starting this Sunday, July 7, eight devices that will combine around thirty technologies will be mandatory on all new vehicles sold on the continent, regardless of their size, brand or category, premium or not. The aim: to improve road safety.
Overspeed, inattention, black box alert
These new teams are:
- speed warning with sign reading
- a warning of loss of attention and drowsiness
- Advanced Driver Distraction Recognition
- Lane departure warning and lane correction
- a preparation for an immobilizer breathalyzer
- an emergency braking signal for users following the vehicle
- an event data recorder (also called a “black box”)
- a tire pressure monitoring system to warn of loss of pressure.
It is the new “GSR2” standard (for Global Safety Regulation II) that requires this equipment to improve road safety. After insisting in 2009 on reducing the consequences of accidents with the GSR I standard, GSR II in turn tries to prevent accidents from occurring. In particular, by monitoring the driver’s actions.
Highly assisted driving
Specifically, while driving, the driver will receive an audible warning if his speed exceeds the limit by even one kilometre/hour, a light warning if he takes his eyes off the road for too long or a steering wheel movement to stay in his lane. The vehicle appears to constantly assist the driver, which can seem very intrusive.
If the EU text insists on the acceptability of the signals, certain elements, such as the speed warning, can be deactivated. But each time the vehicle is restarted, as these are safety elements imposed by law, they will be activated again.
Some systems are also sometimes faulty, although they have been present in more advanced models for several years. Therefore, the reading of the signs to report the speeding alert sometimes takes into account a secondary sign, which generates a beep that does not make much sense.
More expensive cars to buy?
Another question raised by this new safety equipment is the price of this new equipment. According to a working document prepared by CLEPA in 2018, during the discussions on this new regulation, the European equipment manufacturers’ association estimated an additional cost of 500 euros per vehicle for the mandatory introduction of this new equipment.
Some manufacturers are quietly confirming an additional cost. However, it remains difficult to quantify based on the age, size of the models and whether or not their brand belongs to a large group or a group with premium brands in order to minimise costs. Some have also decided to discontinue certain models because compliance with the standards was becoming prohibitive in terms of price, according to Auto Infos, such as the Suzuki Ignis or the Renault Twingo.
Source: BFM TV
