An SIL 4 over-speed protection device for a rail vehicle includes a first logical unit configured to be connected to a first power source, a first speed sensor and a first vital supervision circuit and a second logical unit configured to be connected to a second power source, a second speed sensor and a second vital supervision circuit. The first logical unit is configured to determine if the second logical unit is functioning properly and the second logical unit is configured to determine if the first logical unit is functioning properly.