UNUSUALLY in these days of uncertainty, there seems to be one subject on which Britain and the rest of Europe are in almost total agreement.

New technology that will automatically force vehicles to stick to the speed limit is planned to be introduced across the EU and is also likely to be used in this country even if we ever get round to Brexiting.

New rules have provisionally been agreed by Brussels to make it mandatory for all vehicles sold from 2022 to be fitted with speed limiting gadgets. And it seems highly likely the UK would bring in the same law.

The belief is it will help avoid tens of thousands of serious injuries by 2038, with a long-term aim of cutting road deaths completely by 2050.

The system is called ISA - nothing to do with your tax free savings, it stands for Intelligent Speed Assistance.

This is how it works. GPS works out the car's location and sends the speed limit to the dashboard; the car also uses a sign recognition camera to assess the speed limit; the car uses the information to help the driver stay below the speed limit.

The development has been widely welcomed, although the AA doesn't seem convinced it's the brilliant idea nearly everyone makes out.

Taunton mum Jane Hofmeister has seen the devastation that can be caused by speeding motorists.

Her 13-year-old daughter Amy was killed as she cycled along the pavement in Blackbrook Way when she was hit by speeding driver Leonard Jones in June 2011

Jones and his partner Leanne Burnell were racing each other at the time.

Mrs Hofmeister, who set up the road safety charity Think Amy, said: "Speed limiting technology is a great idea. Anything that helps slow drivers down helps because excessive speed does kill.

"Speed was a factor in Amy's death. If they (Jones and Burnell) had been driving at 30mph, we would not have the situation we've got."

She added the rider that emergency vehicles would obviously need to be able to override any speed restrictions.

Department for Transport figures show 22 people were killed and 164 seriously injured on Somerset's roads in 2017 - the total of 186 people represented a drop from the yearly average of 222 between 2010 and 2014. Not all the deaths involved motor vehicles and a serious injury is defined as when a person is taken to hospital for treatment.

EU Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska is quoted by the BBC as saying: "Every year, 25,000 people lose their lives on our roads.

"The vast majority of these accidents are caused by human error.

"With the new advanced safety features that will become mandatory, we can have the same kind of impact as when safety belts were first introduced."

And a spokesman for the UK's Department for Transport said: "We continuously work with partners across the globe to improve safety standards of all vehicles.

"These interventions are expected to deliver a step change in road safety across Europe, including the UK."

If fewer deaths and injuries are a consequence of the new technology, that logically means one of three things for insurance companies.

With fewer claims to settle, they'll either be able to pay out larger salaries and bonuses to their big cheeses, higher dividends to their shareholders or motor insurance premiums could be cut.

A spokesman for the Association of British Insurers said: "Motor insurers support measures aimed at improving road safety.

"Any steps that can be shown to make our roads safer, reducing road crashes and insurance claims, can be reflected in the cost of motor insurance."

I wouldn't hold your breathe on that one though. But it would inevitably see fewer listings of speeding motorists in the Gazette's weekly round up of magistrates' court results.

Also enthusiastic about the new speed limiting technology is Joshua Harris, campaigns director of road safety charity Brake.

He said: "This is a landmark day for road safety.

"These measures will provide the biggest leap forward for road safety this century."

AA president Edmund King believes that scheme could save lives, but he is concerned it could make drivers more reckless.

Mr King said: "When it comes to intelligent speed adaptation, the case is not so clear.

"The best speed limiter is the driver's right foot.

"The right speed is often below the speed limit - for example outside a school with children about.

"But with Intelligent Speed Assistance, there may be a temptation to go at the top speed allowed.

"Dodgem cars are all fitted with speed limiters, but they still seem to crash."

A number of car manufacturers, including Ford, Mercedes Benz, Peugeot-Citroen, Renault and Volvo, already fit ISA technology in some of their models

Other recent advances in vehicle safety include technology that can flag up if a driver is drowsy or distracted, and data recording in the event of an accident.

Police in Avon and Somerset, aware that modern vehicles are better built for speed than models of decades ago, have for a few years generally turned a blind eye to cars travelling at up to ten mile an hour above the 70mph motorway limit - although they point out that that eye can sometimes see and you would have no defence if you were stopped for doing 79mph on the M5.