SPEED LIMITERS coming to motorcycling?

Speed limiting software is set to become mandatory for all new cars in the UK from this July. Are motorcycles coming next?

The British Motorcyclists Federation has spoken out about the possibility of all new bikes being fitted with speed-limiting software.

It comes ahead of the implementation of new rules which see new cars being legally mandated to come fitted with the technology from this month.

Called Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA), the software is already implemented by some car manufacturers (including Ford, Mercedes and Renault), but will become standard practice from July.

The ISA system works by limiting the speed of the car to the limit on the road the car is on. So, if you’re driving in a 30mph, it will limit you to 30mph. Though the BMF does note that the software can be overridden by the driver.

Speaking about the introduction of ISA, Anna Zee, political and technical services director of the BMF said: “ISA is part of the General Safety Regulation (GSR) passed by the EU in October 2021 and includes a number of items besides ISA, such as Automatic Emergency Braking.”

She added: “Yes, we will see this on cars sold in the UK because there is no law to say they must not be included and the manufacturers will get type approval for Europe and supply the same cars to the UK. Road safety bodies such as the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) is keen to see the whole package implemented in UK legislation – the point is that the combination of measures included amplify the benefits of each measure individually. It says that selecting only some of the measures will dilute the safety benefits.”

For now, ISA will not be mandatory for motorcycles. Of course, manufacturers are free to implement ISA on their latest bikes, but there is no legislation (in Europe or the UK) which says motorcycles must be fitted with ISA.

It does seem likely we’ll see it on bikes in the not-too-distant future, though. However, as motorcycling is always a few years behind the car industry with regards to such advances, and considering we’re only just starting to get more bikes with radars and radar-assisted cruise control, it’s probable we’ve still got a few more years left of throttle freedom.

#morebikes #motorcycles #motorcyclenews #motorcycling #motorbikes