Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
NHTSA

Europe Will Use Vehicle Tech to Prevent Speeding, Save Thousands of Lives

Europe will require a life-saving speed-control system on all new cars — a move that the United States hasn't even contemplated despite the system's potential in reducing a decade-long bloodbath for American pedestrians and motorists.

The European Parliament voted last week to require that by 2022, all new cars will feature a system that restricts the flow of fuel to car and truck engines once the vehicle exceeds a set speed — typically pegged to the speed limit. European officials championed the bill, citing the possibility of saving 15,000 lives over the next 15 years, Forbes reported

Yet a similar proposal is not even on the books in the United States, where more than 6,200 pedestrians were killed last year, up 35 percent from 2009. The number of fatal crashes involving automobiles is also up sharply over the last seven years, with roughly 37,000 people dying as a result of vehicular crashes, statistics show. A large portion of those deaths are due to speeding.

"With nearly 10,000 people killed in speeding related incidents in the United States each year, managing unsafe speeds is essential to achieving Vision Zero," said Veronica Vanterpool, deputy director of the Vision Zero Network. "Speed limiters in cars can save lives and are worth exploring in the U.S."

Yet there has been very little discussion about using this technology — even in limited contexts. Yes, some traffic safety advocates have called for the devices to be mandated on long-haul semi-trucks — but the Obama Administration failed to get its 2016 proposal into law before the Trump Administration shut it down. It was estimated to save as many as 215 lives annually — nothing to sneeze at.

Nonetheless, even the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Governor's Highway Safety Association, which have increasingly sought action on speeding, have stopped short of calling for this type of intervention. Experts don't know why.

"[Europe's new rule] is an extremely sensible move that will likely generate huge and lasting benefits to road safety," said Neil Arason, director of injury prevention at the British Columbia Ministry of Health. "Of all the potential actions available in the transportation field, reducing real-world speeds — in a way that works automatically by design — is probably the most effective and immediate thing that can be done to lessen injury outcomes and prevent loss of life."

It's also better for the environment. Ontario, which has required speed limiters at 68 mph since 2009, has reduced carbon emissions by an estimated 280,000 ons per year as a result of the devices.

In the current context of more and more road deaths and growing attention to climate change, policymakers may finally look to Europe. A spokesman for the Governor's Highway Safety Association, for example, called the E.U.'s mandate "good news."

"It's... another example of how the Europeans are more progressive than Americans regarding roadway safety," Jonathan Adkins told Streetsblog.

Still, we have a long way to go. Recently, U.S. traffic safety leaders were congratulating Volvo for voluntarily capping vehicle speeds at an outrageous 112 mph — as if there is a substantive difference between the killing power of an automobile traveling at 120 or 112.

It starts an important conversation: We can't talk about the goal of zero deaths without addressing speed. https://t.co/EZeUwnBmKv

— IIHS (@IIHS_autosafety) March 4, 2019

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

A Few Lowlights from Secretary Duffy’s First Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Hearing

Featuring: shouting matches, word-salad answers, blatant misinformation, and more.

July 17, 2025

Trump Grant Program Pours Money Into Roads, Mostly Ignores Transit Projects

The BUILD program, started under Obama, is chugging along on highways under the new administration.

July 17, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Gouge Away

A House budget bill reverses the Biden administration's spending hikes for transit and passenger rail — cutting them below even what President Trump proposed.

July 17, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines Stick With What Works

Forget robotaxis. Just make the bus come frequently and on time.

July 16, 2025

Can Colleges Do A Better Job of Fighting Car Dependency?

"How great would it be if kids graduated without the assumption that they must be completely dependent on a personal automobile?"

July 16, 2025

Commentary: The French City of Lyon Shows How to Connect Communities Without Cars

An amazing 24/7 bike-ped-transit connection can be made for pennies on the dollar.

July 15, 2025
See all posts