A portion of the highway that goes from 130 km / h to 110 km / h, a driver a little in the moon who did not slow down because he did not see the traffic sign and then the flashing radar.
This excuse brandished by distracted motorists to justify loss of points will no longer hold in a few months.
New regulations, which have just been adopted by the European Union (EU), in fact provide for making an intelligent speed limiter compulsory on new vehicle models sold from next July.
This intelligent speed adaptation system (AIV) will alert the driver, via an audible and / or visual signal that he exceeds the limit.
Coupled with an on-board camera capable of reading traffic signs and your vehicle's GPS, the AIV will even take care of braking the car on its own if you dare to pass the 130 on the motorway or the 50 in built-up areas.
"No longer have your eyes permanently riveted on your meter"
“It is a kind of intelligent cruise control,” says Renault, which has planned to equip its future electric Megane e-tech - a mid-range model marketed next year - of this system.
"This will allow the driver to no longer have his eyes permanently riveted on his meter, to drive more safely and with more serenity," confides a spokesperson for the diamond brand.
This will be particularly useful for drivers who do a lot of the road and will no longer have to worry about whether they have exceeded the speed limit.
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Read alsoLimitation at 110 km / h on the motorway: the French say no
On the latest Dacia Duster, an SUV from the Renault brand, an audible alarm is already triggered today if you do not respect the speed limit indicated by the vehicle's GPS. As for the automatic speed control system according to the panels, it is offered on certain high-end models equipped with electronic sensors and driving aids.
"A bit like the automatic switching on of the headlights when you enter a tunnel, these intelligent systems are all features that alleviate the driver's obligations," said Laure de Servigny, spokesperson for the Automotive Platform, which represents the whole. of the French sector.
While road safety associations have long been in favor of on-board technologies such as lavia (limiter that adapts to the authorized speed) or the immobilizer alcohol test, which make driving safer for the driver, the association 40 million motorists is more doubtful.
"It's hell because the system is imperfect"
“On paper, it's great because it means the end of small involuntary speeding tickets, recognizes the general delegate of the association Pierre Chasseray. But in fact, I who tested it, it's hell because the system is imperfect: the road signs are not always in line with the real speed limit and the GPS are not always informed of the decided limit changes. by road managers. "
Another bias pointed out by the association manager: the driver keeps control and can quite decide not to engage this intelligent limiter system.
“Which will therefore not prevent the motorist who has decided to break the rules from doing so.
Europe believes in any case hard as iron in the generalization of these driving aids to reduce the number of deaths on the roads of the Old Continent.
Parliament estimates that this intelligent speed adaptation system will reduce the number of fatalities by 20%.
In addition to the black box, with which all new vehicles will soon have to be equipped, the cars of the future will all eventually have a drowsiness warning system, an automatic emergency braking system and lane keeping.
The United States, for its part, wants to go even further in the prevention of alcohol while driving.
Joe Biden, their president, this week signed a law that will force manufacturers to install sensors in vehicles capable of sucking and testing driver's breath.
If they detect traces of alcohol in the breath or even through the skin, then the car will not start.