New car disaster!

[rogerzilla]

But the argument is that it’s not unnecessary, the driver is either exceeding the speed limit or wandering into another lane. There must be evidence to support that these systems improve road safety or they wouldn’t have brought in the legislation. I agree that they are a pain, but with the standards of driving getting worse and the amount of distractions with tech in modern cars perhaps they are necessary.

They are unnecessary because they bleep with every speed limit change and they read signs in side roads. I got two bleeps driving up a garden centre car park because the car saw a couple of signs over a hedge.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

My car is 2019 vintage but has a lot of these features.
On mine I have gone through the setup screens and managed to switch most of them off

There is no way they are a legal requirement because they are not 100% accurate
I have had situations where the speed limit sign detector thougt it was 30mph on a motorway because it missed the 70 sign!!

Only one I have not managed yet is the automatic full beam on the Headlight - puts full beam on when it thinks it is a good idea
problem is that it is unpredictable - so if you rely on it then it doesn;t work them you end up driving without them when you want them
and if you flash your lights to someone - maybe on a narrow road to show them you are giving way - then they cancel the auto feature so if you expect them then they don;t operate after


no idea what genius cam eup with that one!!!

They can be switched off - apparently - but testing whether or not it has worked is not easy as the precise conditions are difficult to be certain are all satisfied

But the setup screens allow me to cancel the really annoying one - might be worth taking it back and asking the dealers to cancel them before you return the whole car???

 

[Marchrider]

in ours if you try and avoid a pot hole by moving slightly to one side of it - it presumes you are wandering, does something wierd to the brakes and steering and does its best to smash the wheel through the pot hole - great feature mercedes,

and on single carriageway trunk roads, it thnks the speed limit is 70 mph

 

[Gunk]

There is no way they are a legal requirement because they are not 100% accurate

I’m afraid it is a legal requirement,

Speed limiters are required on all new cars from July 7 2024​

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/... sold in,mandated for newly introduced models.

 

[Marchrider]

I’m afraid it is a legal requirement,

​

Speed limiters are required on all new cars from July 7 2024​

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/103530/speed-limiters-now-required-all-new-cars-know-rules-and-how-they-work#:~:text=All new cars sold in,mandated for newly introduced models.

I wonder how courts and insurance companies will eventually respond to drivers who have turned off this feature and then crashed, and especially those drivers who can be shown to have disabled the system on every journey they make (all this data will be held within the car)

 

[rogerzilla]

I wonder how courts and insurance companies will eventually respond to drivers who have turned off this feature and then crashed, and especially those drivers who can be shown to have disabled the system on every journey they make (all this data will be held within the car)

47% of people turn them off, apparently. Some will do it because they want to speed but others (like me) do it because they simply don't work and are both distracting and dangerous. Lane departure is potentially lethal on narrow UK roads, and a previous car thought the M5 was limited to 20mph because it saw a sign in the lane coned-off for roadworks. Here are two places where speed limit recognition is caught out every time:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/RwoxuTimEz4FUydk9?g_st=ac

https://maps.app.goo.gl/maYp1N9C5aTHcFoz5?g_st=ac

 

[Drago]

I just ignore it. It's not especially intrusive in the vw and as I don't speed anyway it rarely awakens.

 

[wafter]

Collected new car today after test driving one that I was assured had the same software.

I was swearing at it all the way home. Beeps for every speed sign, beeps constantly if you go over the limit by 1mph (even if it's misread a 30 sign in a side road, which it does), lane departure tried to put me in a ditch. It's unacceptable.

Apparently you CAN turn this off. It must be done before every single drive, and it takes about two minutes of manipulating a fiddly and fragile stalk to do so. New EU regs, apparently.

The manufacturer has a 14 day money back guarantee which I shall be using. I think I've managed to find a pre-registered car from the previous model year which isn't afflicted with this stupidity, and where the stuff stays turned off.

Good work and fair play for voting with your wallet and binning off this stupid, wholly-unnecessary nanny-state rubbish 👍

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I’m afraid it is a legal requirement,

​

Speed limiters are required on all new cars from July 7 2024​

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/103530/speed-limiters-now-required-all-new-cars-know-rules-and-how-they-work#:~:text=All new cars sold in,mandated for newly introduced models.

Oh - didn't know that

I knew it was possible - just didn;t know they were that far advanced along the road

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I do find the "lane assist" feature annoying

mostly because it mistakes some road marking for lane marking and wants me to move left/right

and in the wet then a shiny bit of tarmac can have the same effect

I leave it switched on because it can occasionally be useful - it can be switched off permanently by a button by the door

 

[Alex321]

My car is 2019 vintage but has a lot of these features.
On mine I have gone through the setup screens and managed to switch most of them off

There is no way they are a legal requirement because they are not 100% accurate

They certainly are a legal requirement across the EU, regardless of what you think about their accuracy. ALL new cars sold after 4th July 2024 MUST have ISA fitted and operational. And while you can override it for any individual journey, it will reset to ON the next time you start the car.

And for the UK, while the EU regulations do not apply, manufacturers have decided they aren't going to produce separate versions without it.

But the setup screens allow me to cancel the really annoying one - might be worth taking it back and asking the dealers to cancel them before you return the whole car???

Not going to happen. You simply cannot buy a new car now without it.

 

[fossyant]

as cyclists could we use it to our advantage, a large 20mph speed limit on our backs would alert drivers - or could it just annoy them

Genius. You are on to something. All for annoying drivers

 

[Dogtrousers]

My car doesn't even have auto wipers or lights. And it has a proper metal ignition key.

I do, however, have a satnav that pings if I exceed the limit* and a wife who says "watch your lane positioning" and "mind your gap". So pretty much the same.

*Well, it would if I did but of course I don't

 

[Dogtrousers]

(all this data will be held within the car)

And possibly it will get uploaded to the manufacturer when the vehicle gets serviced, or maybe even more frequently if that's possible.

I'm just guessing, I have no knowledge of the subject, but if I was a manufacturer and my vehicles were gathering lots of lovely telemetry I'd want to make sure I got my hands on it.

 

[Psamathe]

I’m afraid it is a legal requirement,

​

Speed limiters are required on all new cars from July 7 2024​

https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/103530/speed-limiters-now-required-all-new-cars-know-rules-and-how-they-work#:~:text=All new cars sold in,mandated for newly introduced models.

What about gaffer tape over the camera? One assumes that disabling it wont break any UK laws - article seems to say it's an EU law not UK but how does that affect things if you drive your car in the EU?

Ian