Intelligent Speed Assist

Sterlingtimes

I enjoy the ISA facility, whereby my car automatically identifies the speed limit and then automatically restricts the car to that speed. Do all new cars have this feature, or is it restricted to more expensive models?

oldernonethewiser

It isn't a feature on all cars.  Mine has speed sign recognition and is only for information.  It is so useless* I make sure I have it switched off.

*partly due to lack of signs and partly due to the fact that it routinely ignores them.

molerat

It is compulsory in the EU on new cars so expect it here soon.  It does not "limit" the car to that speed, it can be switched off or over-ridden with a firm press of the throttle.

Sterlingtimes

oldernonethewiser said:

It isn't a feature on all cars.  Mine has speed sign recognition and is only for information.  It is so useless* I make sure I have it switched off.

*partly due to lack of signs and partly due to the fact that it routinely ignores them.

Thank you. My Fiesta recognises the speeds superbly. The failure rate is very low. It doesn't like time variable speed limits, e,g outside schools. 

I want to be sure that when I replace my car it has this totally automated feature. The salesman in the Ford showroom did not understand the feature when I explained it to him.

My wife and my father-in-law refuse to use the feature. My son and I love it.

oldernonethewiser

How does it recognise the speed limits?

Car_54

Sterlingtimes said:

oldernonethewiser said:

It isn't a feature on all cars.  Mine has speed sign recognition and is only for information.  It is so useless* I make sure I have it switched off.

*partly due to lack of signs and partly due to the fact that it routinely ignores them.

My wife and my father-in-law refuse to use the feature. My son and I love it.

Will you still love it when it misses a sign and you get points for speeding?

Relying on the technology is not a defence.

Brie

I don't know how the information gets updated but near us a number of roads have changed from 40 to 30 according to the signs.  But the ISA still says 40.  There's another road where all the signs saying 40 have been removed and not replaced so no one knows what the correct speed is there.  I assume it's 30 as that's safer for me rather than risking a ticket.  Granted some people are still doing 60 there so hopefully they'll get the speed traps out soon.

Car_54

Brie said:

I don't know how the information gets updated but near us a number of roads have changed from 40 to 30 according to the signs.  But the ISA still says 40.  There's another road where all the signs saying 40 have been removed and not replaced so no one knows what the correct speed is there.  I assume it's 30 as that's safer for me rather than risking a ticket.  Granted some people are still doing 60 there so hopefully they'll get the speed traps out soon.

Does the road have street lighting? If so, it's 30 and no signs are required.

Alanp

Had this on my previous ford puma, in theory it’s a good idea but, I found that it often failed to recognise signs, sometimes picking out the side road 20mph and slowing to this speed, my new Toyota doesn’t have the limit linked to the speedo and this rarely gets a sign wrong, I think it’s a great idea if it works properly but I’m happier manually adjusting mine as required…

Bigwheels1111

molerat said:

It is compulsory in the EU on new cars so expect it here soon.  It does not "limit" the car to that speed, it can be switched off or over-ridden with a firm press of the throttle.

In the old days, ha ha.
Before brexit, the limiter was to reduce speed and would slow you down.
Not let you speed.
Make a note of how many times you override it etc.
Then probably sell the data to you insurance company and charge you more.
Conspiracies all around.
After brexit it was fitted but override is possible as you say.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/content/news/mandatory-speed-limiters-on-uk-cars-from-2022

born_again

Usually these systems use a camera to pick up the signs, but many will pick up road signs for side roads (20) & as such leave you wondering what the actual speed limit is.
If they are GPS based they will not pick up any temp limits. Or depending on how often system is updated any change in limits.