In the announcement released Wednesday, the European Commission, the E.U.’s political arm, said it has struck a provisional deal to require a host of new safety features for new vehicles, including so-called intelligent speed assistance (ISA) technology, reports the Associated Press.
The agreement on the new technologies is now subject to formal approval from the European Parliament and Council before it will go into effect in 2022.
ISA technology is not altogether new. Earlier this month, Volvo announced it will limit the top speed of its cars to 112mph from 2020 onward in an attempt to reduce the number of accidents. The cap will prevent drivers from accelerating to the top speeds of up to 155mph many Volvos can reach.
According to the European Transport Safety Council (ETSC), ISA uses technology such as GPS, digital mapping and cameras to give vehicles location and speed limit information, reports CNBC.
“Every year 25,000 people lose their lives on our roads,” said Elzbieta Bienkowska, the European Commissioner responsible for internal market and industry. “We can and must act to change this.”
“The vast majority of these accidents are caused by human error,” she added. “We can and must act to change this. With the new advanced safety features that will become mandatory, we can have the same kind of impact as when the safety belts were first introduced.”
Other safety technologies include autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warnings, driver drowsiness warnings, driver distraction warnings, and an accident data recorder. Some of these safety features are already common in newer model vehicles, according to Forbes.
