EU-style gadgets to stop drivers breaking the speed limit could be made mandatory in all new cars in Britain, it has been reported.
Ministers are expected to announce consultation on a range of new vehicle safety measures which would help drivers slow their speed.
They will feature so-called intelligent speed assistance (ISA), which relies on GPS tracking and cameras on a car to assess what speed it should be going, The Telegraph reports.
Manufacturers can choose from a range of responses, from alarms to mechanisms that reduce engine power or push back on the pedal when drivers break the speed limit.
Drivers can override the system but it’s said the technology will reactivate every time the car is started.
And car-makers Citroen, Ford, and Jaguar have all already started featuring the tech in some of their cars.
Tory MPs suggested the “Big Brother in your cockpit” proposals were part of an “anti-driver campaign” that sounded “very unconservative”.
And Edmund King, the president of the AA, warned of chaos on the roads if speed limits changed and the gadgets were not updated to match.
He said: “The speed limits have to be totally accurate because the car is reacting to the speed limit.
“If you’ve got the wrong speed limit in the digital system, it might slow you to the wrong speed or allow you to speed to the wrong speed.”
Mike Hawes, the chief executive of the Society of Motoring Manufacturers and Traders, welcomed the measures, hoping they will further improve safety on roads.
He said: “SMMT and its members look forward to contributing to the UK Government consultation on how these measures will be rolled out in this country.”
However, he added that diverging from EU regulations would be bad for the industry.
The EU had initially planned to make the more stringent ISA system – which cut engine power once the speed limit has been reached – mandatory.
It softened the proposals after successful lobbying from car makers.
Such a system, which drivers can override by pushing on the accelerator, has been shown to cut road deaths by up to 20 per cent, according to The Telegraph.
And the UK’s Vehicle Certification Agency has previously said it intends to mirror EU rules on vehicle safety standards after Brexit.
The Department for Transport said no decisions had been made on which safety regulations the UK would follow.
A Department for Transport spokesman said: “The UK’s departure from the EU provides us with the platform to capitalise on our regulatory freedoms.
“We’re currently considering the vehicle safety provisions included in the EU’s General Safety Regulation and will implement requirements that are appropriate for Great Britain and improve road safety.”
