A new speed camera law that 'will change how we drive' will come into effect this weekend.

A change in EU legislation - despite the UK no longer being part of the Union - is set to have a considerable effect on motorists up and down the country.

All new cars that are made in Europe will be required to have speed limiters fitted to them from Sunday, July 7.

The laws will affect any European cars driven in the UK but it also works the other way.

Any cars that are made in the UK and sold in Europe also need them.

The legislation, which was passed in 2022, affects new and unregistered vehicles.

If you have already bought and registered your car, you will not need to do anything.

Additionally, unregistered vehicles that are currently waiting in car dealership forecourts will need to have these fitted retrospectively.

"The new rules, set to take effect in July, introduce 'mandatory' speed limiters, changing how we drive on roads. These Intelligent Speed Assistance systems will become standard, forcing drivers to stick to speed limits automatically,” said a spokesperson for Motor Match.

What are the speed limiters?

The new Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) systems use speed sign recognition cameras and/or GPS-linked speed limit data to advise drivers of the speed limit.

As part of efforts to improve road safety, they will also warn motorists if they’re going over the limit.

'Advisory' ISAs will tell you if you've exceeded the speed limit that you're driving on.

Many drivers will be familiar with this method since many SatNavs already do this.

Meanwhile, a 'supportive' ISA will make it more difficult for you to press down on the accelerator pedal if you've gone over the limit.

And finally, there are 'intervening' ISAs which reduces power to your engine if you're speeding.

This intervention will gradually reduce your speed until you're back within the legal limit.

Why are speed limiters being introduced?

50% of cars speed in 30mph zones, according to UK government figures.

The official statistics show that a third of all road fatalities are caused by excessive speed.

Therefore, these speed limiters are being introduced to reduce the number of potential road collisions.

What has been the response to speed limiters?

Despite being introduced to promote road safety, some associations have pointed out that the warning signals for speeding can be disruptive to the driver.

On its website, AutoTrader explains that manufacturers will have four options to alert the driver when they’re speeding in order to tackle this.

For instance, one way could be for the driver’s foot to be gently pushed back.

Another could have the speed control system automatically reduce the propulsion power that can be overridden by pushing the pedal again.

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Thirdly, the driver will be sent a flashing visual signal to point out you’re speeding and if they continue to drive over the limit, an audio cue will be activated.

Motorists who ignore this as well will have both visual and audio cues before it times out.

Lastly, the driver will first be sent a visual cue. If they ignore it, the pedal will vibrate. If they keep ignoring the combined signals, they will eventually time out.