欧盟拟为所有汽车安装限速器 时速不超70迈

欧洲委员会运输交通部近期提议为欧盟各国所有汽车安装限速器，将汽车时速限定在70英里（相当于112.6公里）以内，以减少因道路交通事故死亡的人数。据悉，该提议中的限速器会通过卫星技术或在车内安装速度检测摄像头来掌握车辆速度，如果驾驶者有超速行为，限速器会对其发出警告，若驾驶者未做出减速操作，则系统会自动控制刹车将速度降至限定范围内。欧洲每年有3万人死于道路交通事故。欧洲委员会一位发言人表示，交通部门正就已在重型货车和公交车上使用的限速技术征询有关专家，会在不久后公布相关文件。

All cars could be fitted with devices that stop them going over 70mph, under new EU road safety measures which aim to cut deaths from road accidents by a third.

Under the proposals new cars would be fitted with cameras that could read road speed limit signs and automatically apply the brakes when this is exceeded.

Patrick McLoughlin, the Transport Secretary, is said to be opposed to the plans, which could also mean existing cars are sent to garages to be fitted with the speed limiters, preventing them from going over 70mph.

The new measures have been announced by the European Commission’s Mobility and Transport Department as a measure to reduce the 30,000 people who die on the roads in Europe every year.

A Government source told the Mail on Sunday Mr McLoughlin had instructed officials to block the move because they ‘violated’ motorists’ freedom. They said: “This has Big Brother written all over it and is exactly the sort of thing that gets people's backs up about Brussels.

“The Commission wanted his views ahead of plans to publish the proposals this autumn. He made it very clear what those views were.”

The source claimed one of the reasons he was against the Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) scheme is that the UK has a better road safety record than other European countries – with 1,754 people dying in road accidents last year compared to 3,657 in Germany.

The scheme would work either using satellites, which would communicate limits to cars automatically, or using cameras to read road signs. Drivers can be given a warning of the speed limit, or their speed could be controlled automatically under the new measures.

A spokesman for the European Commission said: “There is a currently consultation focusing on speed-limiting technology already fitted to HGVs and buses.

“Taking account of the results, the Commission will publish in the autumn a document by its technical experts which will no doubt refer to ISA among many other things.”