Do you have the habit of speeding while driving? Be careful, because from this year, a new obligation will force you to take your foot off the accelerator pedal.
This year, a new measure may not please many motorists. It concerns all drivers who are used to exceeding the speed limits on departmental roads, national roads or on motorways. If this is your case, know that this little pleasure, far from being without danger, will soon be part of the past. And for good reason, a brand new, very sophisticated device will make, from this year, speeding on new vehicles almost impossible.
As you can probably imagine, behind this measure, the objective is to save lives. Indeed, speed is responsible for 27% of road deaths in France, underlines Road Safety. A phenomenon which is not new and which continues to claim victims even today. According to the latest report from the Association of French Highway Companies (Afsa), published on August 2, 2023, a 43% increase in fatal motorway accidents was noted in 2022, with 188 motorists dead, or 57 more than in 2021. So to reduce deaths on the roads and guarantee a certain safety, the authorities had an idea: to make a system compulsory which forces drivers to slow down in the event of excessive speed. The solution has been found and it is the principle of AIV, intelligent speed limiters. The tool has already been developed and will be installed on all new vehicles from July 2024, “including models marketed before July 2024”, indicates the French government website.
Concretely, how will this work? Each new vehicle will have a camera which will be linked to the car’s GPS. This will be able to analyze speed limit signs. If excessive speed is observed, a visual or audible signal will be emitted so that the driver slows down on their own. If he refuses, the car system can then act on the accelerator pedal. On the other hand, if necessary, the driver can regain control of the pedal and even deactivate the system after each start. With this system, according to projections by the European Commission, more than 25,000 lives could be saved by 2038.