Road safety may be considered a source of pride for the UK, since it has one of the lowest death rates in Europe. But the EU is looking at making roads in Britain and across the continent even safer – by introducing speed limiters on all new cars.
The Transport Secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, is thought to be against the idea, saying, “This has Big Brother written all over it and is exactly the sort of thing that gets people's backs up about Brussels.”
While such sentiments are in line with the Government’s euro-sceptic ethos, many UK motorists may be angered by the idea of technology taking such control of their everyday lives.
The European Commission’s Mobility and Transport Department is looking at ways to reduce the 30,000 people who die on Europe’s roads each year.
The technology that would be used in such a scheme is called Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA), which would use either satellites or cameras that read road signs. One source said a key reason for the UK being against the idea is that road-related deaths are much lower in the UK than many other countries. For example 1,754 people died in road accidents in Britain last year, compared to 3,657 in Germany.
From the viewpoint of giving breakdown insurance advice, keeping to the speed limits puts less stress on a car’s mechanical components, and is of course much safer. However, such ‘Big Brother’ controls such as new speed-limiters may anger some drivers.
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