• A new technology that helps prevent drivers from exceeding speed limits is proving to be a must-have feature for customers buying a new Ford car

• Ford Intelligent Speed Limiter scans traffic signs and adjusts the throttle to help drivers stay within legal speed limits, avoid speeding fines, driving bans and accidents

• Ninety-five percent of S-MAX and Galaxy customers already choose models equipped with the technology. All-new Edge SUV is the next Ford vehicle to offer Intelligent Speed Limiter.

• This week sees a pan-European crackdown on speeding. In France, a further 500 speed cameras are to be introduced by 2018. And in the U.K. MPs have proposed increasing use of cameras that measure average vehicle speeds along stretches of road

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COLOGNE, Germany, April, 20, 2016 – Technology that helps drivers to avoid incurring costly speeding tickets has emerged as one of the most popular features for Ford customers in Europe. Now Ford Intelligent Speed Limiter is being extended to the all-new Ford Edge SUV, which arrives in European dealerships next month.

When activated by a driver, Ford’s Intelligent Speed Limiter utilizes cameras to read traffic speed signs and can adjust the throttle to help drivers avoid exceeding speeding limits, a cause not only of costly fines, but also driving bans and accidents.

This week The European Traffic Police Network, TISPOL, is mounting a speed enforcement week across 27 European countries. A similar event last year resulted in more than 540,000 detections. An increasing focus on speed cameras will see an extra 500 speed cameras introduced in France by 2018,* while in the U.K., the Parliamentary Transport Committee has called for the more widespread use of speed cameras that measure average vehicle speeds along stretches of road.** Recently, the first-ever speed camera was introduced to Luxembourg.*

Since Intelligent Speed Limiter was first launched on the Ford S-MAX sport activity vehicle and Galaxy people-mover last year, 95 per cent of people who bought one of these models chose a vehicle equipped with the technology.

“Drivers are not always conscious of speeding, and sometimes only becoming aware they were going too fast when they see the flash of the camera, receive a fine in the mail or are pulled over by law enforcement,” said Stefan Kappes, active safety supervisor, Ford of Europe.  “Intelligent Speed Limiter can remove one of the stresses of driving, helping ensure customers remain within the legal speed limit.”

Intelligent Speed Limiter combines the functionality of two Ford technologies:

• Adjustable Speed Limiter – which enables drivers to manually set a maximum vehicle speed
• Traffic Sign Recognition – which provides drivers with the latest detected speed limit, cancellation signs and overtaking restrictions via the instrument cluster display

Ford Intelligent Speed Limiter can help ensure the maximum speed is automatically adjusted to remain within changing speed limits. Drivers activate Intelligent Speed Limiter in the vehicle menu using the steering wheel controls.

In vehicles equipped with onboard navigation, Intelligent Speed Limiter also uses map data for improved accuracy.

The system uses a windscreen-mounted camera to monitor road signs and when the speed limit is lower than that maximum set speed, Intelligent Speed Limiter slows the vehicle as required. As the speed limit rises, the system allows the driver to accelerate up to the set speed, providing it does not exceed the new speed limit.

Further advanced driver assistance technologies introduced by Ford in Europe also include video technology that enables drivers to see around corners. Front Wide-View Camera available as an option in the all-new Ford Edge, S-MAX and Galaxy – displays to the driver a wide-angle view from the front of the car, using a video camera in the grille. At a blind junction or exiting a driveway, the camera enables drivers to easily spot approaching vehicles, pedestrians or cyclists.

The all-new Ford Edge is the largest of Ford’s SUVs for Europe – joining the Kuga mid-size SUV and EcoSport compact SUV.

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* Safety camera boost in France, Luxembourg and Portugal (ETSC)
** Transport committee calls for more average speed cameras (Autocar)

Editor’s notes:

• Car rental company Avis conducted a global survey of speeding fines in April, 2016. Maximum fines in Finland, the U.K., Belgium, Portugal, France and Norway were amongst the highest in the world. In Portugal for example the maximum fine is €2,459 (approx. £2,030), while in Finland there is no maximum limit

http://blog.avis.co.uk/travel-experience/cost-speeding-around-world/

• The German Road Safety Council (DVR) is calling for speed limits on narrow country roads to be reduced to 80 km/h (50 mph) following a 2.9 per cent increase in deaths on German roads last year

http://etsc.eu/germany-calls-for-better-speed-enforcement-as-deaths-rise-again/

• The 27 U.K. police forces that responded to a Freedom of Information request, recorded an average of 56,080 speeding offences each last year – a 20 per cent increase compared with 2013 and an 8 per cent increase compared with 2014

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/speeding-offences-soar-even-100-7604822

• Five drivers in the U.K. were caught on camera between January 2015 and January 2016 at speeds over 161 km/h (100 mph) in 48 km/h (30 mph) zones

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/news/uks-worst-speeder-caught-exceeding-100mph-in-30mph-zone/

• Spanish police intercepted a 36-year old man driving at 297 km/h (185 mph) last month

https://www.tispol.org/content/2016/04/01/14/48/spain-police-intercept-driver-297kmh

• A British man was imprisoned for ten months at the end of 2015 for filming himself driving at 308 km/h (192 mph)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-34744459