At the moment. Older vehicles will have to be fitted later.
That could take years, so fingers crossed I have moved on or stopped driving altogether before they get to mine.
Having spent a good chunk of my professional life living with those things I will not be going down that path again.
Technically impossible.
Thatâs what I thought but, not technically knowledgable enough to say so. 
I should probably have written âImpossible, technicallyâ.
My readings in the French motoring press tell me that the brakes will not be applied.
When the speed limit is being exceeded, perhaps upon entering a 50 zone for example, there will be both a visual and audible notification, and if speed is not reduced by the driver, there will be a âpushbackâ on the accelerator pedal similar to that felt through the brake pedal when ABS is activated. If in an emergency situation, additional speed is needed, then stomping the accelerator to the floor in âkickdownâ fashion will override the system.
There is apparently also a procedure (exact details unknown), for disabling the entire system if the driver so wishes, although this procedure would have to be repeated each time the car is started.
So perhaps overall, the system is not quite such a pain as might be first thought.
I think market forces will make it so.
I can imagine a backlash from drivers - at least to the extent that if one manufacturer fits a relatively âintrusiveâ system they will lose sales to manufacturers who go for a minimally intrusive system. Since, as far as I can see, a system which merely warns you if you exceed the speed limit ad does nothing else would be compliant I think thatâs where it will quickly settle out.
In fact I think that the S3 is compliant and all that does is display your current speed alongside the speed limit.
I think you will find that the âpush backâ on the accelerator pedal is a requirement of the legislation. It would seem that the objective is to make it impossible to inadvertently exceed the speed limit.
Something similar to what I have been calling for many years for the speed limiters of lorries, to avoid the âelephant racesâ holding up traffic for mile after mile.
Just recently I hired a brand new car at Gatwick airport to drive to Suffolk (about 3 hours). Having left the hired car place it was around 5 minutes before I got onto the motorway. I put my foot down and nothing happend. I had it on the floor and nothing happend. All the lorries were doing the maximum speed and I was doing well under 30mph!!. I put on the hazard warning lights hoping that no one would crash into the back of me. It was very scary. At the time I had no idea that any car had a restricter on it.
After about 5 minutes of terrifying driving I saw an SOS stop and rang the police recovery. After many, many hours they turned up and lowloaded me to somewhere off the motorway and then waited more hours for the AA. I arrived at the SOS stop at 1.30 pm and found a hotel at 1.00 am. in the morning. A round trip of 2 miles. Cars with restricters on them are so dangerous. The hire car company had no business renting me a car for one day in that condition. Of course it was not their fault.
I trust that you have been given a full refund of your money. May I ask which rental company it was ? I sometimes have to go to Gatwick myself.
I do agree that any sort of speed restrictor could be very dangerous, especially if there is absolutely no way to override it, but I donât think your issue was caused by any sort of restrictor. Most likely thing is that a âlimp modeâ was engaged. Anyway, the EU legislation doesnât call for a restrictor like that. What is required was described very well by @Robert_Hodge earlier in the thread.
Hello Robert,
I actually booked via the airline easyJet and paid them way over the odds to hire the car and drop it off at Norwich airport the following day.
The hire company is Europcar. I was given a car that I did not choose. It was a new MG. Beware of them. There are 2 levers very close to each other and apparently it is so easy to accidentley flick the switch for the limiter. I know I did not do it. I have tried to get some compensation from the airline but there terms and conditions make sure that the customer cannot make a claim. They give you 5 days in total to prove your claim and then throw the âcaseâ out. I had all my pics. and documents sent to them within that time frame but got nowhere. I also tried to make a claim from Europcar but they just ignore any communications at all. Just a horrible experience.
Why would anyone do that?
Hiring any car these days is fraught without at least a 10 minute run through of gizzmos gadgets and idiosyncrasies. I was caught out a couple of times, once in an Audi where the in car infotaintment contained so many features I had to pull over and spent around 30 mins switching off stuff I didnt want and switching on stuff I did. It could have been quicker but the infotainment syststem was bloody cryptic with menues hidden behind other menus.
I got caught out once over 25 years ago. Hired a car from Enterprise and as it was an empty to empty hire (who does that now ?) I stopped at the first petrol station to fill up and the bloody thing wouldnât start. As Iâd only gone 100m up the road I walked back and the guy came with me to see what he could do. He started it first time. Iâd never had a car that needed the clutch pedal to be depressed before the car would start 
. Heâd started it at the hire place to show me some things but forgot to warn me about the clutch. And of course you never get the manual with the car 
.
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VAG infotainment systems have been highly criticised over the last five or so years.
Another MG horror story. If Iâm offered one when I rent Iâll refuse,
Like turning on LTA without telling the customer, and then wondering why the car suddenly wrenches you back into the lane it thinks you should be on when legitimately changing lane, e.g. to exit a motorway ? The last car we hired in Ireland had that, did my head in, and was downright dangerous on wet roads, especially when crossing cats eyesâŚI made a comment when I returned the car to the hire company, and they just shrugged their shoulders.
Such a shame. I remember them with fondness.
In any car delivered in at least the last year it comes on automatically when the car is started. You can turn it off, but next time you start the car itâll be on. Same now with limiters. I think this is unwise legislation because the implementation, effectiveness and reliability of these driving âaidsâ is different with each manufacturer.
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