From the black box to an accident-free future

There is no doubt that the device on the cover is the ISA (the acronym for Intelligent Speed Assistance), a system that will help the driver to maintain 'the most appropriate speed for the road environment'. From the definition, we can understand that it is not a speed limiter: much more simply, it will be a signal on the accelerator pedal or 'another specific signal' that will warn the driver of exceeding the limit. The system is based on the observation with cameras of road signs and any signals coming from the same road infrastructure (smart road), or from the data of any digital map present on board the vehicle. The rule provides for the possibility, for the driver, to deactivate the system, but those who want to resort to this option should do so every time because the device will activate automatically when the engine starts. But let's repeat, for the avoidance of any doubt: the ISA will not affect the possibility for drivers to exceed the indicated speed.

Then there is an Event Data Recorder, the system that will record all possible data in the event of an accident: the speed, the braking force, the inclination of the vehicle with respect to the road. It will be a pre-installed device that absolutely cannot be disabled by the user, and all the data saved within it cannot be manipulated in any way. The standard specifies that the data recorder 'is not capable of recording and storing data or information that would enable the individual vehicle or the owner or holder of the vehicle to be identified'. In any case, the data may 'be made available to national authorities only for the purpose of investigation and analysis in relation to an accident'. Ultimately, the contents of the black box are not associated with the car or people, but the police forces, in the event of an accident, can use it to reconstruct the dynamics and, therefore, attribute the responsibilities. As for alcohol, the European standard does not provide for the obligation of this device, rather for an interface that allows it to be fitted later, so new vehicles marketed from 7 July 2024 should be prepared for a possible after-sales installation.

There is an important goal at the continental level: to save 25,000 lives and avoid 140,000 serious injuries on European roads by 2038, a further step towards the 'Vision Zero' of 2050 that aims to achieve zero fatalities on roads. In this sense, the European Union has been working for years to make cars safer. From the beginning of July, all newly registered vehicles should be compulsorily equipped with unprecedented safety systems: some of them are already present on cars of the latest generation (driver fatigue warning, distraction warning, tyre pressure monitoring, and emergency stop signalling), but there are also new ones. Among them, an incident recording system—a sort of ‘black box' that records activity in the moments immediately before and after the event—intelligent speed adaptation and an alcolock, the device that prevents the engine from starting if the driver has drunk alcohol, are particularly noteworthy. In two years, however, there will be a real transition: these devices will be mandatory on newly registered vehicles (cars, coaches, vans, and lorries) from July 7, 2024.

There is no doubt that the device on the cover is the ISA (the acronym for Intelligent Speed Assistance), a system that will help the driver to maintain 'the most appropriate speed for the road environment'. From the definition, we can understand that it is not a speed limiter: much more simply, it will be a signal on the accelerator pedal or 'another specific signal' that will warn the driver of exceeding the limit. The system is based on the observation with cameras of road signs and any signals coming from the same road infrastructure (smart road), or from the data of any digital map present on board the vehicle. The rule provides for the possibility, for the driver, to deactivate the system, but those who want to resort to this option should do so every time because the device will activate automatically when the engine starts. But let's repeat, for the avoidance of any doubt: the ISA will not affect the possibility for drivers to exceed the indicated speed.

Then there is an Event Data Recorder, the system that will record all possible data in the event of an accident: the speed, the braking force, the inclination of the vehicle with respect to the road. It will be a pre-installed device that absolutely cannot be disabled by the user, and all the data saved within it cannot be manipulated in any way. The standard specifies that the data recorder 'is not capable of recording and storing data or information that would enable the individual vehicle or the owner or holder of the vehicle to be identified'. In any case, the data may 'be made available to national authorities only for the purpose of investigation and analysis in relation to an accident'. Ultimately, the contents of the black box are not associated with the car or people, but the police forces, in the event of an accident, can use it to reconstruct the dynamics and, therefore, attribute the responsibilities. As for alcohol, the European standard does not provide for the obligation of this device, rather for an interface that allows it to be fitted later, so new vehicles marketed from 7 July 2024 should be prepared for a possible after-sales installation.