Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/1958 of 23 June 2021 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 of the European Parliament and of the Council by laying down detailed rules concerning the specific test procedures and technical requirements for the type-approval of motor vehicles with regard to their intelligent speed assistance systems and for the type-approval of those systems as separate technical units and amending Annex II to that Regulation (Text with EEA relevance)

Article 1

Test procedures and technical requirements for the type-approval of a vehicle with regard to the intelligent speed assistance systems

The type-approval of a vehicle with regard to the intelligent speed assistance systems shall be subject to the vehicle complying with the test procedures and technical requirements set out in Annex I.

Article 2

Test procedures and technical requirements for the type-approval of an intelligent speed assistance system as a separate technical unit

The type-approval of an intelligent speed assistance system as a separate technical unit shall be subject to the system complying with the test procedures and technical requirements set out in Annex I.

Article 3

Catalogue of road signs

The list of road speed limit signs used in each Member State, based upon which the type-approval authorities and technical services shall assess the performance of the intelligent speed assistance systems in accordance with this Regulation, is set out in Annex II.

Article 4

Information on the use of intelligent speed assistance systems

Vehicle manufacturers shall provide the approval authorities granting type-approvals pursuant to this Regulation with the following information:

(a) ratios of the time driven or the distances that are travelled with the intelligent speed assistance systems switched on and switched off;

(b) ratios of the time driven or the distances that are travelled with the perceived speed limits being observed and being overridden, respectively;

(c) the average time elapsed between the switch-on and the switch-off of the intelligent speed assistance system by the driver, when applicable;

The information referred to in subparagraph (a), shall be provided separately for the cascaded acoustic warning function, the cascaded vibrating warning function, the haptic feedback function and the speed control function.

Article 5

Amendment to Regulation (EU) 2019/2144

Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 is amended in accordance with Annex III to this Regulation.

Article 6

Entry into force and application

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 6 July 2022.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

ANNEX I

1. Definitions

For the purposes of this Annex, the following definitions shall apply:

1.1.‘vehicle type with regard to the intelligent speed assistance system’ means vehicles which do not differ in such essential respects as the characteristics and functionality of the speed limit determination system and its performance when operated on a public road located within the territory of the European Union as well as the feedback system used to aid the driver in maintaining the appropriate speed for the road environment;

1.2.‘type of intelligent speed assistance system’ means a combination of specific hardware and overall software architecture which does not differ in such essential respects as the characteristics and functionality of the speed limit determination system and its performance when operated in up-to-date condition on a public road located within the territory of the European Union;

1.3.‘speed limit information function’ means a function that is comprised of the speed limit determination system that determines the perceived speed limit, and a human machine interface that communicates the perceived speed limit to the driver;

1.4.‘speed limit warning function’ means a function that alerts the driver that the speedometer speed is exceeding the perceived speed limit;

1.5.‘speed control function’ means a function that attempts to limit the speedometer speed to a stable speed at or below the perceived speed limit;

1.6.‘perceived speed limit’ means the applicable speed limit as obtained by the speed limit determination system;

1.7.‘speedometer speed’ means the driving speed of the vehicle as displayed by its on-board speedometer;

1.8.‘applicable speed limit’ means the maximum permitted legal driving speed for the road travelled, as applicable for the category of vehicle that the intelligent speed assistance system is fitted to;

1.9.‘catalogue of road signs’ means the list of national and regional variants of road sign types and variable message sign types based upon which the intelligent speed assistance system obtains the perceived speed limit;

1.10.‘applicable road sign’ means a sign contained in the catalogue of road signs for the category of vehicle to be approved and which is applicable to at least one lane of the vehicle’s carriageway, including both non-electronic, conventional signs and variable message signs, but not including speed limit markings on road pavement;

1.11.‘explicit numerical speed limit sign’ means an applicable road sign which shows a temporary or permanent numerical value;

1.12.‘speed limit determination system’ means the specific hardware required to obtain the speed limit through the observation of road signs and signals, based on infrastructure signals or electronic map data, or both;

1.13.‘implicit speed limit sign’ means an applicable road sign which does not show a numerical value (implicit non-numerical speed limit sign) or shows a strikethrough numerical value (implicit numerical speed limit sign);

1.14.‘national speed limit’ means the default maximum permitted legal driving speed for the road type travelled in a given Member State, unless indicated otherwise, as applicable for the category of vehicle that the intelligent speed assistance system is fitted to.

2. General technical requirements

2.1.An intelligent speed assistance (ISA) system shall comprise a speed limit information function (SLIF) and either a speed limit warning function (SLWF) or a speed control function (SCF).

2.1.1.The ISA system of a vehicle shall comply with:

(a) ISA system requirements laid down in points 3.1., 3.2. and 3.3.;

(b) SLIF requirements laid down in point 3.4.; and

(c) either of the following requirements: (i) SLWF requirements laid down in point 3.5.; or (ii) SCF requirements laid down in point 3.6.

2.1.2.Where the motor vehicle is fitted with an ISA system type-approved as a separate technical unit (STU), the vehicle and its system shall comply with:

(a) ISA system requirements laid down in points 3.1., 3.2. and 3.3.;

(b) SLIF requirements laid down in point 3.4.1. and points 3.4.2.1.1. to 3.4.2.1.4.; and

(c) either of the following requirements: (i) SLWF requirements laid down in point 3.5.; or (ii) SCF requirements laid down in point 3.6.

2.1.3.Type-approval of an ISA system as STU shall be subject to the STU complying with the SLIF requirements laid down in point 3.4.2.

2.2.Subject to point 2.3., the ISA system shall be designed to avoid or minimise the error rate under real driving conditions.

2.3.ISA systems shall comply with the requirements when the vehicle is operated on a public road or street located within the territory of the European Union, as defined at the time of type-approval.

2.4.Privacy and data protection.

2.4.1.The ISA system shall comply with the requirements in the normal operation mode without the use of biometric information, including facial recognition, of any vehicle occupants.

2.4.2.Without prejudice to the provisions in Article 4 of this Regulation, the ISA system shall not continuously record nor retain or transmit any data related to specific incidents of exceeding the speed limit other than what is necessary for performance of the required ISA functionality or to comply with other Union acts regarding vehicle type-approval (e.g. event data recorder).

2.5.Where the ISA system is enabled with positioning capabilities, it shall be compatible at least with the positioning services provided by the Galileo and EGNOS systems. In addition, the ISA system may also be compatible with other satellite navigation systems.

3. Specific technical requirements

3.1.ISA failure warning.

3.1.1.A constant optical signal shall be provided when there is a failure in the ISA system that prevents the performance requirements of this Regulation of being met.

3.1.1.1.There shall not be an appreciable time interval between each ISA self-check, and subsequently there shall not be a delay in displaying the warning signal, in the case of an electrically detectable failure.

3.1.1.2.Upon detection of any non-electrical failure condition (e.g. sensor obscuration excluding temporary obscuration such as sun glare) a failure warning signal referred to in point 3.1.1 shall be activated.

3.1.1.3.The status of a failure that must activate the warning signal referred to in point 3.1.1, but which is not detected under static conditions, shall be retained upon detection of such a failure and continue to be displayed after each activation of the vehicle master control switch, as long as the failure or defect persists.

3.2.ISA control

3.2.1.It shall be possible for the driver to manually deactivate the ISA system, either fully (i.e. the SLIF and SLWF, or SLIF and SCF), or partially (i.e. the SLWF or SCF).

The manufacturer may provide the possibility for the driver to manually and partially deactivate the SLWF to do either of the following:

(a) provide an active visual warning function, but without audible or haptic warning; or

(b) terminate a single instance of the SLWF audible or haptic warning (e.g. mute button).

The conditions set out in points 3.2.1.1., 3.2.1.2. and 3.2.1.3. shall apply as appropriate.

3.2.1.1.The ISA system shall be automatically reinstated in normal operation mode upon each activation of the vehicle master control switch. Automatic reactivation of ISA system may be conditional upon the driver’s door having been opened.

3.2.1.2.A constant optical signal shall inform the driver that the ISA system has been fully deactivated. An optical signal lasting at least 10 seconds or until manually cancelled shall inform the driver that the ISA system has been partially deactivated. The failure warning signal specified in point 3.1.1 may be used for this purpose.

3.2.1.3.Following manual deactivation of the ISA system, it shall be possible for the driver to re-activate the system with no more than the number of actions required to deactivate it.

3.2.2.Automatic deactivation of the ISA system is permitted in situations when automated systems control the speed of the vehicle, that is, those systems which perform the object and event detection and response dynamic driving subtask (e.g. automated lane keeping system (ALKS)). Such deactivation does not need to be signalled to the driver.

3.2.3.The vehicle manufacturer may provide for an automatic or manual vehicle speedometer calibration function to minimise the discrepancy between the speedometer speed and the true speed of the vehicle e.g. after tyre replacement, as long as it is ensured that the requirements of UN Regulation No 39 (¹) are always complied with. In addition, the vehicle manufacturer may take into account a tolerance of up to 3,0 % as regards the perceived speed limits used to activate information and warnings.

3.2.4.The speedometer speed is considered equal to the perceived speed limit if the speedometer speed indication is within 1,0 km/h over the perceived speed limit.

3.2.5.In the case where the tolerances of the speedometer’s measuring mechanism are minimal, the provisions in points 3.2.3. and 3.2.4. mean that the information referred to in point 3.4.1.2. and the warning referred to in point 3.5.1. may be triggered at an indicated speedometer speed and true speed of the vehicle that is slightly above the perceived speed limit.

3.3.Periodic roadworthiness test procedure

3.3.1.For the purpose of periodic roadworthiness tests, it shall be possible to verify the following features of the ISA system:

(a) Its correct operational status, by visible observation of the failure warning signal status following the activation of the vehicle master control switch and any bulb check. Where the failure warning signal is displayed in a common space (the area on which two or more information functions/symbols may be displayed, but not simultaneously), it must be checked first that the common space is functional prior to the failure warning signal status check;

(b) Its correct functionality and the software integrity, by the use of an electronic vehicle interface, such as the one laid down in point I.(14) of Annex III to Directive 2014/45/EU (²), where the technical characteristics of the vehicle allow for it and the necessary data is available. Manufacturers shall ensure to make available the technical information for the use of the electronic vehicle interface in accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2019/621 (³).

3.3.2.At the time of type-approval, the means to protect against simple unauthorised modification of the operation of the ISA system and failure warning signal chosen by the manufacturer shall be confidentially outlined and this information shall be provided to the technical service. Alternatively, this protection requirement is fulfilled when a secondary means of checking the correct operational status of the ISA system is available.

3.3.3.If electronic data (e.g. map data) with relevance to its performance is used by the ISA system, it shall be possible to easily verify the version of the data.

3.4.SLIF technical requirements

3.4.1.SLIF display

3.4.1.1.The SLIF display shall be located in the direct field of view of the driver and be clearly identifiable and legible both day and night. Additional displays of similar information at other locations in the vehicle (e.g. on navigation screen, as projected information, etc.) are permitted and they shall not be subject to the requirements in this point.

3.4.1.2.In the absence of conditions leading to the deactivation of the system in accordance with points 3.2.1. and 3.2.2., the SLIF display shall display the perceived speed limit to the driver at least when the speedometer speed is more than the perceived speed limit, for speeds from 5 km/h or less.

3.4.1.2.1.The perceived speed limit shall be displayed in any of the following ways:

(a) on the speedometer in a manner that is clearly noticeable and distinguishable and which does not reduce the speedometer’s legibility (e.g. optical mark);

(b) as a numerical value, using a symbol resembling a model of speed limit road sign referred to in the Convention on Road Signs and Signals, of 8 November 1968; or

(c) text consisting of the value and the unit of measurement.

Display of additional sub-sign information is permitted in all cases.

3.4.1.3.When no perceived speed limit is available to the ISA system, due to one or more circumstances referred to in points 5.3.1., 5.3.2 and 5.3.3., a dedicated optical signal, making clear this particular situation, shall be provided to the driver with or without an assumed speed limit indication on the SLIF. The failure warning signal specified in point 3.1.1. shall not be used for the purpose. In case of an assumed speed limit indication on the SLIF, a question mark “?” shall be displayed prominently adjacent to the numerical value.

3.4.1.4.When the SLIF display displays the perceived speed limit, even when the speedometer speed is lower than the perceived speed limit (e.g. always on or on demand with activated ISA), the system shall also provide a subtle and not-annoying audible notification each time when the perceived speed limit changes. This feature may be user configurable (e.g. sound, volume, permanently switched off).

3.4.1.5.When the ISA system is deactivated, display of the perceived speed limit is permitted. No audible notifications as referred to in point 3.4.1.4. are required in such case.

3.4.2.Speed limit determination

3.4.2.1.Country of operation setting

3.4.2.1.1.If knowledge of the country of operation is a prerequisite for correct speed limit determination, the ISA system shall comply with either of the following conditions:

(a) the system is able to automatically detect the country-code and set it with or without user confirmation; or

(b) the system allows the driver to manually select the country-code.

If knowledge of the region of operation is a prerequisite for correct speed limit determination, the system may adopt the more common applicable speed limit throughout the various regions of that country, to the discretion of the manufacturer.

3.4.2.1.2.The ISA system shall retain the manually set or user confirmed country of operation, even after re-activation of the vehicle master control switch.

3.4.2.1.3.The manual setting procedure for the country of operation shall be intuitive and through a non-complex interface. In particular, it shall be easy to toggle between current and previous country of operation choices.

3.4.2.1.4.In case of the need for manual setting or user confirmation, the motor vehicle’s user instructions (e.g. owner’s manual, vehicle handbook) shall clearly specify that this procedure is required for correct operation of the ISA system.

3.4.2.1.5.Motor vehicles intended for local or regional operation (e.g. buses of Classes I and A) may have limited ISA system operational capabilities as regards knowledge of the country or region of operation. The user instructions of the motor vehicle shall clearly specify the limitations of the ISA system and provide information on how to obtain alternative country or regional parameters from the manufacturer if the place of operation of the motor vehicle changes. Until the introduction of a dedicated entry in the Certificate of Conformity, the text “ISA functionality is limited to country or region of operation” shall be added to the “remarks” in the Certificate of Conformity as to allow inclusion of this information in on-board vehicle registration papers.

3.4.2.2.Perceived speed limit determination through observation of explicit speed limit signs.

3.4.2.2.1.In the absence of conditions leading to the deactivation of the system in accordance with points 3.2.1. and 3.2.2., the SLIF shall be able, through direct visual observation of road signs or other effective methods, to recognise all explicit numerical speed limit signs where the associated applicable speed limit for the category of vehicle to be approved matches the numerical value shown on the sign, and determine the applicable speed limit at the latest 2,0 seconds after the manufacturer’s declared reference point on the motor vehicle (also to be specified for STUs) passes the road sign. This requirement shall be met at least when the following conditions are satisfied:

(a) the signs meet conditions set out in point 3.4.2.2.2.; and

(b) the signs are encountered in the operational and environmental conditions referred to in point 3.4.2.2.3.

Compliance with the first paragraph shall be demonstrated in accordance with the relevant test procedures and documentation specified in point 4.1.

For vehicle driving speeds below 20 km/h, the applicable speed limit may be determined at the latest 10 m rearward of the manufacturer’s declared reference point referred to in the first paragraph.