Speeding is still the main cause in 30% of all fatal accidents on Europe’s roads. Today’s passenger cars come increasingly equipped with active safety systems to help drivers avoid speed-related traffic accidents.
Speed limit information (SLI) systems inform the driver of the current speed limit by displaying it on the dashboard and/or navigation system. They use cameras to recognise road signs or use speed-limit data from the navigation system. Many SLI systems combine both.
Intelligent speed assistance (ISA) systems can actively prevent drivers from exceeding the speed limit using road-sign recognition cameras and GPS-linked speed-limit databases. It should be noted that the variant of ISA that is going to be mandatory in the European Union as of 2022 can be switched off and is overridable.
To ensure that ISA systems provide reliable information to the vehicle at all times, infrastructure should be updated and road signs should be harmonised across Europe. Digital maps must also be fully populated with speed limit information for all roads, and data must be continuously updated.
