Regulation (EU) 2019/2144, usually called the General Safety Regulation, sets the safety systems a new vehicle must have to be type-approved and registered in the EU. It applies in waves, and by now most of it reaches every new van and truck a fleet buys. For a fleet manager the interest is practical: these systems change what drivers experience, overlap with telematics the fleet already pays for, and come with data rules of their own.
What every new vehicle must have
Article 6 lists the advanced systems required in all motor vehicle categories:
- Intelligent speed assistance (ISA)
- Alcohol interlock installation facilitation — a standard interface for fitting an interlock, not the interlock itself
- Driver drowsiness and attention warning (DDAW)
- Advanced driver distraction warning (ADDW)
- Emergency stop signal
- Reversing detection
- Event data recorder (EDR)
Buses and trucks (categories M2, M3, N2 and N3) must also have, under Article 9, a lane departure warning system, advanced emergency braking, systems that detect pedestrians and cyclists close to the front or nearside of the vehicle, and — in later phases — enhanced direct vision from the driver's seat.
Telematics-based speeding reports and in-vehicle ISA measure the same thing from different data.
When each applies
Annex II gives each requirement a letter code with two dates: when new types stop being approved without it, and when new vehicles stop being registered without it.
| System | Vehicles | New types refused from | New registrations refused from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligent speed assistance | Cars, vans, buses, trucks | 6 July 2022 | 7 July 2024 |
| Driver drowsiness and attention warning | Cars, vans, buses, trucks | 6 July 2022 | 7 July 2024 |
| Blind spot information system | Buses and trucks | 6 July 2022 | 7 July 2024 |
| Advanced driver distraction warning | Cars, vans, buses, trucks | 7 July 2024 | 7 July 2026 |
| Event data recorder | Cars and vans | 6 July 2022 | 7 July 2024 |
| Event data recorder | Buses and trucks | 7 January 2026 | 7 January 2029 |
| Direct vision | Buses and trucks | 7 January 2026 | 7 January 2029 |
The practical reading: any van or truck registered new since July 2024 has ISA and drowsiness warning; since July 2026 it has distraction warning too. For heavy vehicles, event data recorders and the direct vision cab design arrive with new types from January 2026 and become universal for registrations from January 2029 — which matters for anyone planning a vehicle replacement cycle that runs past that date.
Intelligent speed assistance: what it does and does not do
Article 6(2) sets the minimum requirements for ISA:
- The driver must be made aware that the applicable speed limit is exceeded, through the accelerator or through dedicated feedback.
- It must be possible to switch the system off, but it returns to normal operation every time the vehicle is started.
- Speed limit information comes from road sign recognition, infrastructure signals or electronic map data, or a combination.
- It must not prevent the driver from exceeding the prompted speed.
ISA is a warning and feedback system, not a speed limiter. It also reads limits from signs and maps that are sometimes wrong — temporary roadworks limits, a sign hidden by a hedge — and drivers notice quickly. Expect complaints in the first weeks, and expect some drivers to switch it off on every start.
Drowsiness and distraction warnings, and your dashcams
Article 6(3) sets a data rule that is unusual in vehicle regulation: drowsiness and distraction warning systems must not continuously record or retain data beyond what is needed for their purpose within the closed-loop system, the data must not be accessible or made available to third parties at any time, and it must be deleted immediately after processing.
In other words, the factory distraction warning is not a source of driver monitoring data for the fleet. If you want a record of distraction events, that comes from a separate fleet system, such as a driver-facing camera in a video telematics deployment — with the data protection assessment that implies under the GDPR, covered in telematics and driver privacy.
Event data recorders
Article 6(4) requires an EDR to capture, for the period shortly before, during and immediately after a collision, data including vehicle speed, braking, position and tilt on the road, the state and activation of safety systems, and the eCall system. It is accident data, not a tracker: it records around a collision, not a working day.
For fleets, the relevance is claims handling. When an EDR exists, the questions in an accident management process change: who can retrieve the data, how, and how it relates to what the fleet's own telematics recorded at the same moment.
What to do with this
- Check registration dates across the fleet to know which vehicles have which systems. Vehicles registered before July 2024 may have none of them.
- Brief drivers on ISA and the warnings before new vehicles arrive, including what can be switched off and that it returns on every start.
- Align speeding policy with ISA rather than running two conflicting signals.
- Review camera and telematics alerts for overlap with factory warnings.
- Plan heavy vehicle purchases around January 2029, when direct vision and EDR become universal for new truck registrations.
Frequently asked questions
Is intelligent speed assistance a speed limiter?
No. Under Article 6(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 it must not affect the driver's ability to exceed the prompted speed. It warns or gives feedback, can be switched off, and returns to normal operation each time the vehicle is started.
From when must new vans have intelligent speed assistance?
For vehicle registrations, from 7 July 2024; new vehicle types needed it from 6 July 2022, per Annex II of the regulation.
Can a fleet access data from the factory distraction warning?
No. Article 6(3) requires drowsiness and distraction warning systems not to retain data beyond their closed-loop purpose, not to make it available to third parties at any time, and to delete it immediately after processing.
When do new trucks need event data recorders?
For buses and trucks, new types from 7 January 2026 and all new registrations from 7 January 2029, according to Annex II.
