Every new car built after May 2022 will be fitted with anti-speeding devices to alert drivers when they break legal limits, as well as in-built breathalysers to cut out engines when drink drivers get behind the wheel.

New vehicles will need to have an Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) limiter as standard after the European Parliament agreed on new rules in Strasbourg on Tuesday.

The alert system will ensure drivers observe speed limits through GPS and road sign recognition cameras.

EU governments and MEPs agreed on 30 new safety standards for cars, vans and trucks. The bill is set to be rubber stamped in a forthcoming vote of the European Parliament.

"The Commission wanted to make it compulsory that the car would automatically slow down to observe speed limits but we have secured a compromise where the system merely has to alert the driver that he or she is speeding," said Daniel Dalton, the Tory MEP for the West Midlands.

"It is true that cars built in Britain will have to carry these safety systems and standards if they are to be exported to the EU," Mr Dalton said. "But we have also secured improved rules making sure that drivers of trucks pose less of a risk to cyclists and pedestrians."