All new cars must have the devices from 7 July, adding fuel economy as well as safety. Will mpg become the new mph?
In the highway code and the law courts, there is no doubt what those big numbers in red circles mean. As a quick trip up any urban street or motorway with no enforcement cameras makes clear though, many drivers still regard speed signs as an aspiration rather than a limit.
Technology that will be required across Europe from this weekend may change that culture, because from 7 July all new cars sold in the EU and in Northern Ireland must have a range of technical safety features fitted as standard. The most notable of these is intelligent speed assistance – or colloquially, a speed limiter.
The rest of the UK is theoretically free, as ministers once liked to put it, to make the most of its post-Brexit freedoms, but the integrated nature of car manufacturing means new vehicles here will also be telling their drivers to take their foot off the accelerator. Combining satnav maps with a forward camera to read the road signs, they will automatically sound an alarm if driven too fast for the zone they are in.
Governors aren’t anything new. It’s not taking control, rather just limiting speed.
They wont be new when most people have used and adapted to them. Limiting speed is taking control. I can imagine situations when having the ability to speed up can save your life or avoid a crash (think overtaking, avoiding falling obstacles or percieved danger from other vehicles with distracted drivers). Theres’s a lot more about this then just limiting speed.
Or it could just be a limiter on top speed. I know there are a few Chevrolets (like the volt) that limit top speed to around 90mph. I’d argue that’s pretty reasonable, as I don’t believe there is a public road where the speed limit is that high in the US. However, I do agree that the bigger issue is phone use and how no one seems to have a simple answer for fixing it (probably need a mandated mode which limits functions when the GPS detects you going over a certain speed, but which would require a large amount of industry cooperation which probably isn’t available).
mandated mode which limits functions when the GPS detects you going over a certain speed
Lol, this sounds like very American thinking. Yet y’all still make cars with 5 seats.
Should we be locking functionality for people taking a bus or a train?
Should we unlock the functionality again when they go ABOVE a certain speed? Because I’m pretty sure GPS works on planes, too.
How about someone driving who wants to disable some annoying app that the kids in the back seat are using, and knowing that it’d get disabled as long as they go fast enough, speeds up the car beyond the speed limit?
The loaner car I just got when bringing my vehicle in for some warranty service, was set by the dealer to max out at 85mph. Given that there’s no road above 65 in my state, that seems reasonable.
Actually my car has parental controls that I’ve never considered using until now. I’m not going to nanny my teen drivers but surely they don’t need to exceed speed limit +20mph
If it limits your speed, it’s taking control of your speed, otherwise it’s not really limiting your speed.
Basic logic 101.
Governors don’t “take control”. You don’t get to 101mph and it goes oh better reduce his speed. It prevents you from getting there.
Regardless, I re-read the article and it’s far more advanced than a governor. This article is indeed talking about something that takes control (uses technology to try and determine speed limits for example).