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Speed limiters on cars ?


Observer II

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I think an excellent use for such technology is in fog & other poor weather conditions to take away the gung ho urges of high powered car drivers. Also great in roadworks, heavy traffic & police pursuits. Manual override should not be included though.

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funny that wonder if any of the people who came up with the idea read this forum, because i am sure that i suggested something similar a while back (probably in one of the "twenty's plenty posts" a few years ago). will have to have a trawl through and see if i can find it.

So that being the case can i get some sort of royalties from that.

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21 minutes ago, Evil Sid said:

Have been passed on the motorway by several vans that have signs saying "this vehicle limited to 60mph". (Was doing 70 plus at the time, according to my speedo.)

Given that all newer cars have electronic engine management systems, why can't a limit algorithm be set by a simple signal to limit it's top speed to whatever the speed limit is on that particular road. If nobody can go any faster then there is not a lot of need for over taking. (or even possibility if all vehicles are travelling at their max speed)

Could even be of aid to prevent prolonged police chases, quick signal to the fleeing car and the engine cuts out end of road chase beginning of foot chase.

found it but for some reason thought it was further back than october last year.

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I don't think I'd be happy with anything that would prevent me from accelerating where it makes sense to do so, even if it does mean occasionally exceeding the limits. A safer way might be some device that simply monitors how long and by what amount anyone has spent driving over the limits. This way, safety isn't compromised and only persistent offenders end up paying. 

My old Alfa has a warning screen and a really annoying beep if I go above 80 mph which has worked pretty well at keeping points off my licence while on the motorway. It'd be even better though if it could to do this automatically for other limits. 

 

Bill :)

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I know it's not quite the same thing but my sons little works van is limited to 60mph by some little gadget.  As most of his works journeys are long ones and on motorways he says it's been down right dangerous at times as when there have been occasions where he does need to pull out and/or overtake to avoid idiots at more than 60 he simply can't.  On the plus side though he's never gone over the 70mph speed limit lol

 

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The Army had governors on the carburettors (a long time ago!) , which tended to be accidentally ripped off, allowing a 3 ton truck to exceed 70mph.  I presume these new limiters will be electronic and probably tamper proof.  The only danger I foresee is when one vehicle begins to overtake, and the other vehicle accelerates to stop it;  then you have a problem.

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Only tamper proof until somebody comes up with an override app. Imagine the chaos that could cause.

All the cars on the motorway suddenly slowing to twenty as some "Hubert" on a bridge stands there with his mobile laughing. (mind you certain people would be fine with that who think twenty is plenty)

And how would it work in residential areas with a mix of twenty, thirty and some places forty limits. How far into the appropriate zone would the limit signal reach. I can imagine the scenario of travelling along a thirty limit road and the car suddenly slowing down every time it passed a twenty zone.

No doubt the eminent experts will have thought of all this and have safeguards in place.🤦‍♂️

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These days, virtually all sat navs are aware of the local speed limits so using this type of technology, it should be possible to limit the speed of a car on virtually any road but whether this would be a good idea or not would depend on how it's implemented. I reckon that the vast majority of people wouldn't be that bothered given that the majority of drivers drive sensibly anyway but I just hope any limiter doesn't have a fixed hard limit.

A few days ago, a lorry driver obviously didn't see me passing in his blind spot and started moving out just as I was about level with his cab. Fortunately I was able to boot it, which did take me well over the limit for a few seconds but I probably wouldn't be here now to tell this tale if I was prevented from doing this.

 

Bill :)

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Or manufacturers stop making cars that are capable of exceeding 100 + mph.

Could easily be done using appropriate gearing and engine.

my four wheeled gad about has a top speed of between 65 and 75 depending on whether i am going up hill or down hill and the following wind or headwind. (and according to the blurb is 99% recyclable).

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Well you hardly need a limiter on your's Sid!  Both mine are a bit quicker, one limited to 140 and the other to 183, not that either ever gets much above the limit. 😉

From what I've read though, there does seem to be some confusion between the EU and the department for transport as to whether these devices will actually slow you down or just issue an alert. Either way it does say that while they must be fitted to new cars in 2022, at that point their use will be optional via a defeat switch. I suspect that teething problems will make this switch a necessity,

I can't see how car manufactures like BMW Ferrari etc are ever going to sell cars like this but I suppose it does bring a whole new meaning to the term limited edition. 

 

Bill :)
 

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I don't think it could at the moment but you're right because driving at an inappropriate speed for the conditions is far more dangerous than going slightly above a limit set in some office. 

Some of the tech advances such as radar braking / speed and lane control are fantastic, making it almost impossible to have an accident. But it does worry me that taking away the necessity to concentrate while driving could lull someone into a false sense of security and lead to tiredness.

 

Bill :)

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2 hours ago, Milky said:

Speed limiters are great especially when someone decides to match your speed.

I am sure statistic say most accident happen below the speed limit  and how does it stop people going to fast for the conditions?

And that is why it can take miles for one HGV to overtake another one.

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