Since speed limits were introduced, people who don’t really “get” driving have wondered why a car’s power isn’t restricted so it can’t exceed those selfsame speed limits. For most drivers, that’s a nightmare scenario, but it appears to becoming reality for European drivers.

UK based Evo.co.uk is reporting that, after approval by key members of the European Parliament of regulations proposed by the European Transport Safety Council, speed limiters and data loggers will now be mandatory equipment on all new cars. The European Parliament’s Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection voted in favor of mandatory vehicle safety standards that could be in force within three years. Negotiations between the Parliament, Member States and the European Commission will determine how the new regulations are implemented.

The speed limiters, which go by the euphemism Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA), use GPS data and possibly traffic sign recognition to determine a road’s speed limit and then limit engine power to match that speed. While it’s possible to just press harder on the accelerator and go faster, if the car exceeds the speed limit for several seconds, an audible warning signal will sound, along with a visual warning displayed until speed is reduced to the legal limit.

The new regulations also mandate data loggers, plus driver assist features like lane warnings and autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection. It’s not clear if the data loggers would have any privacy protections.

ETSC would like even more stringent regulations, like making the ISA more difficult to override or defeat. As is usual when nannies like to control people, they say it’s for their own good. A banner image at the ETSC website says, “The EU saved my life,” and after the committee vote, the ETSC congratulated itself with the #LastNightTheEUSavedMyLife hashtag.

ETSC says the devices will reduce the number of collisions by 30 percent and save 25,000 lives. That figure is actually over the next 15 years, but telling millions of European motorists that their freedom will be restricted to theoretically save about 1,700 people a year probably wouldn’t sound as convincing.

[Image: European Transport Safety Council]