In July the Department for Transport published its response to January’s consultation on making a package of safety technologies compulsory for new vehicles in Great Britain. The answer is that it’s going ahead. All 18 technologies will be required on new mass-produced cars, vans, lorries and buses approved under the GB type approval scheme.
Most of these systems are already required in the EU, and in Northern Ireland. The UK helped write the rules but left the EU before they took effect, so they never applied here. The government wants to cut collisions and casualties, bring GB into line with Northern Ireland and Europe so manufacturers aren’t building two specifications, and reduce trade friction.
The 18 technologies
Watching the driver:
1. Advanced distraction warning: spots when your attention leaves the road
2. Drowsiness and attention warning
3. Intelligent speed assistance: tells you the limit and warns when you exceed it
Seeing other road users (aimed mainly at lorries and buses):
4. Blind spot information system
5. Moving off information system: warns of pedestrians or cyclists close in front when pulling away
6. Direct vision: cab design that lets lorry drivers see more directly
7. Reversing motion awareness
Stepping in when things go wrong:
8. Emergency braking for vehicles
9. Emergency braking for pedestrians
10. Emergency braking for cyclists
11. Emergency lane keeping
12. Emergency stop signal: brake lights flash under hard braking
Protecting people in a crash:
13. Frontal full-width impact standards
14. Frontal offset impact standards
15. Pole side impact standards
16. Pedestrian windscreen impact standards
Keeping an eye on the vehicle:
17. Tyre pressure monitoring
18. Event data recorder
The legislation hasn’t been made yet, so there are no fixed dates. The clock starts when the law comes into force:
- Newly approved models: 12 months later
- All newly registered cars and other complete vehicles: 24 months later (36 months for direct vision and data recorders)
- Vehicles built in stages, such as converted vans: 36 months later (48 months for direct vision and data recorders)
In practice many new cars already have most of these, because manufacturers build to EU standards anyway.
What it means for us
Support in the consultation was broad, but weakest for intelligent speed assistance and emergency lane keeping. Respondents worried about false alerts on rural roads with faded markings, drivers switching systems off in irritation, and over-reliance on automation.
None of this replaces what Roadcraft and the Associate Logbook teaches. Observation, anticipation and planning happen in your head, not in a sensor, and the Highway Code is clear that driver assistance systems don’t reduce your responsibility for controlling the vehicle. Treat these systems as a safety net rather than a co-driver. If you’re buying a new car, spend some time learning what each system does and doesn’t do.
The full government response is on
GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/mandating-vehicle-safety-technologies-in-gb-type-approval/outcome/mandating-vehicle-safety-technologies-in-gb-type-approval-government-response#consultation-feedback-summary-of-responses or search “Mandating vehicle safety technologies in GB type approval”.
IAM RoadSmart also has a Guide to ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/mandating-vehicle-safety-technologies-in-gb-type-approval/outcome/mandating-vehicle-safety-technologies-in-gb-type-approval-government-response#consultation-feedback-summary-of-responses
