Mandatory safety systems in new cars (GSR2): 2024 and 2026

From 7 July 2024 every newly registered car and van in the EU must have, among others, the ISA speed assistant, AEB emergency braking, ELKS lane keeping, an EDR recorder and drowsiness warning. On 7 July 2026 more requirements were added, including AEB for pedestrians. Only new cars: used cars need no retrofitting.

What is GSR2 and who does it apply to?

GSR2 is the informal name of Regulation (EU) 2019/2144 of the European Parliament and of the Council on type-approval requirements for motor vehicles as regards their general safety (the General Safety Regulation). An EU regulation is binding in its entirety and applies directly in every member state, so in Poland it is in force without a separate act of parliament.

The act concerns type approval, meaning the admission of new models and new vehicles to sale and registration. It covers vehicles of category M (cars and buses), N (vans and lorries) and O (trailers). It does not apply to cars already on the road. Nobody requires a used car to be retrofitted with assistance systems.

Three stages: when each requirement took effect

The difference between a new type and a newly registered vehicle matters. In 2022 the requirements covered only models that the manufacturer was just bringing to market. Two years later they caught up with every newly registered vehicle, regardless of when the model debuted. The regulation has applied since 6 July 2022, and the later dates follow from its Annex II.

What every new car must have from 7 July 2024?

Art. 6 of the regulation lists the systems required in all motor vehicles:

1. Intelligent speed assistance (ISA): helps you keep a speed appropriate to the road environment by giving you feedback.
2. Alcohol interlock installation facilitation: a standardised interface to which an aftermarket breathalyser that blocks the ignition can be connected. The new car does not have the interlock itself.
3. Driver drowsiness and attention warning (DDAW): assesses your alertness from signals in the vehicle's systems and warns you when needed.
4. Emergency stop signal (ESS): the lights tell drivers behind that a strong deceleration force is acting on the vehicle, meaning it is braking hard.
5. Reversing detection: a camera or sensors warn of people and objects behind the vehicle.
6. Event data recorder (EDR), described below.
7. Advanced driver distraction warning (ADDW), whose deadline for all new cars and vans fell in July 2026.

On top of that, art. 5 requires a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS). It must warn you of a loss of pressure and be designed so that it cannot be reset or recalibrated while the pressure is too low.

Cars and vans (categories M1 and N1) must additionally have, under art. 7:

• an advanced emergency braking system (AEB), in the first phase detecting obstacles and moving vehicles,
• an emergency lane keeping system (ELKS).

Lorries and buses have separate requirements, including systems that detect pedestrians and cyclists in the blind spot and warn the driver. How ABS, ESP, AEB and the other systems work is described in our overview of car safety systems.

What was added on 7 July 2026?

The second phase covers all new cars and vans registered from 7 July 2026. According to the European Commission's press release of 8 July 2026 it includes:

• AEB extended to detect pedestrians and cyclists (the second phase under art. 7 of the regulation),
• the advanced driver distraction warning system (ADDW),
• a better forward field of vision for the driver,
• new tests for worn tyres,
• an enlarged safety glass zone that protects pedestrians in a collision.

Three of the five points concern pedestrians and cyclists. The Commission links the package to the Vision Zero goal, meaning getting close to zero road deaths by 2050. Manufacturers were given a staged timetable because these functions are technically complex and needed time to develop.

ISA: how it works and can you switch it off?

Intelligent speed assistance takes the speed limit from observing road signs, from infrastructure signals made available in the vehicle or from electronic map data, or from a combination of these sources (art. 6(2)(c)). It compares the limit with the car's speed and reacts when you exceed it.

The regulation specifies what that reaction should look like. You receive feedback through the accelerator pedal or other appropriate feedback that you have exceeded the applicable limit. The system must be possible to switch off, but every time the vehicle's master control switch is activated it returns to normal operation. And most importantly: ISA must not take away your ability to exceed the suggested speed. You decide how much throttle to give.

The consequence is simple. The fine and penalty points for speeding go to you, not the car. Exceeding the limit by more than 50 km/h in a built-up area means your driving licence is withheld for 3 months; the details and the fines tariff are in our article on penalty points and losing your licence.

EDR: what the black box records and who can access it?

The event data recorder has one purpose: to record and store critical parameters shortly before, during and immediately after a collision. Art. 6(4) lists the data it must cover: the vehicle's speed, braking, the position and tilt of the vehicle on the road, and the state and rate of activation of all its safety systems.

The data must be anonymised and protected against manipulation and misuse. The recorder must not store the last four digits of the vehicle identification number or any other information that would allow the car, its owner or its user to be identified (art. 6(5)). The record does, however, allow the vehicle type, variant and version to be established. National authorities may use the data only for accident research and analysis.

The EDR is not continuous monitoring: its sole purpose is to record parameters around a collision. A similar restriction applies to cameras watching the driver. Drowsiness and distraction warning systems must be designed so that they do not continuously record or retain any data other than what is necessary for their purpose (art. 6(3)).

How many accidents is this meant to prevent?

The European Commission estimates that mandatory assistance systems will help save over 25 000 lives and avoid at least 140 000 serious injuries by 2038. That is the wording of the press release of 5 July 2024, issued just before the second stage. It is a forecast for the whole Union over more than a decade, not a promise for an individual driver or an individual car.

What does this mean for a learner and the driving test?

Driving school cars and test vehicles bought new after 7 July 2024 have these systems from the factory. The test still assesses you. The examiner evaluates, among other things, how you perform manoeuvres, your behaviour towards other road users, your assessment of dangers, your reactions and how you operate the vehicle's controls. The lane assistant will not change lanes for you, and ISA will not slow down before a sign.

In practice:

1. ELKS may correct your line when the car approaches the edge of the lane. In the test your driving counts: keep to the middle of the lane and signal every change of direction with the indicator.
2. An ISA signal is a hint, not an excuse. The limit applies to you whether or not the car displayed it.
3. The technical check on the manoeuvring area concerns fluids and lights, not assistance systems. The scope of that task is described in our article on vehicle checks in the driving test.
4. If you train in an older car but take the test in a new one, ask your instructor for one lesson in a vehicle with assistance systems, so the warnings do not surprise you during the test.

How to recognise these systems in a car?

• ISA: a speed limit sign icon on the dashboard, which in many models flashes or changes colour when you exceed the limit; plus a sound signal or resistance in the accelerator pedal.
• ELKS: an icon of a car between lane lines and a message about a steering correction.
• AEB: a collision warning with a sudden sound signal when you approach an obstacle too fast.
• DDAW: a message suggesting a break, in many cars with a coffee cup icon.
• TPMS: an icon of a tyre cross-section with an exclamation mark.
• EDR: there is no warning light or menu entry; you can confirm its presence in the owner's manual.

Meeting the GSR2 requirements is the legal minimum, not a quality rating. Euro NCAP tests assistance systems separately, in the Safety Assist category, so two cars that comply with the regulation can receive different scores for how well their systems work.

Before you drive off in a new car, go through the assistance menu and set which warnings should be audible and which only shown on the screen. Questions about ABS, ESP, seat belts and head restraints, meaning what the test really checks, you can practise in a mock test.