BBC NEWS | UK | Calls for 'speed-limiting' cars

I wonder if it would be a defence against speeding tickets if the device wasn't updated properly and got it wrong (assuming you could prove it was switched on).

Oh lovely, so every pedal jockey is gonna have one fitted...NOT... and what happens when you need a squirt of power and it isn't there anymore? I do wish these ppl would leave things they don't understand alone, it's the same crew that brought you Cat Converters and DPF's.

Bet it won't be just to limit speed either, they will use it as a tracking device on the vehicles movements too.

But at the moment it's voluntary so no-one will have one fitted anyway.:rofl:

Got trackers on the vans and although it doesn't adjust the speed itself .....you have to stick to them or get hauled over the coals......believe me driving at 50mph on normal roads has taught me a few things.....mostly various hand gestures from the other road users I hold up ......also if I come up behind a tractor or anything doing 43mph then I can't overtake it, .......you brake a lot going downhill so you can't use the moentum to get you up the other side.........and it is boring as hell ......you get to 50 and to try to keep up a decent average speed you do anything you can, hard cornering, hard acceleration, heavy braking ...in fact all the things that use more fuel

several high-end cars already have speed limiters fitted - usually set to 225kph....

But I understand there are ways of removing them...

The government and it's bunch of 'advisors' (which include a lot of anti-car groups) have not got the first clue about road safety. Their inability to provide a consistent safety policy has directly led to the needless deaths of hundeds (if not thousands) of people. Unfortunatelly these clowns/marxists/tree huggers cannot see past the speed is everything bandwagon.

They have been talking about this for years, its not new and just seems to have resurfaced again. The clip in the video is a mk1 fabia with the system fitted and this was demonstrated nearly 5 years ago IIRC.

I know that driving between downing street and westminster will involve a top speed of 30mph, but in the real world we have to make manouvers called 'overtaking'.

I can see it now.... poxy sunday driver taking their time at 45mph in a 60 zone.... you go to over take... the car stops increasing speed at 60.... a car comes in the other direction.... head on collision... people die. What will they blame the deaths on then?

Its not Speed that kills, its bad driving at ANY speed.

Don't worry about it, even if it is fitted then I'm sure there will be ways of removing or disabling the technology. Not that I would encourage such behaviour, of course!

My 328 was limited to 155mph before its remap.

I can see it now.... poxy sunday driver taking their time at 45mph in a 60 zone.... you go to over take... the car stops increasing speed at 60.... a car comes in the other direction.... head on collision... people die. What will they blame the deaths on then?

Bad driving, poor planning, poor decision making, etc.

Chris

The government and it's bunch of 'advisors' (which include a lot of anti-car groups) have not got the first clue about road safety.

It doesn't help that neither Gordon (I've saved the World) Brown nor the muppet in Number 11 have driving licences.

What a great way of causing accidents.

They experimented with this (on test tracks) in the US. The problem was as vehicles left the school/construction zones, there were loads of rear-end crashes. In the 25 zones, with the limiter on, the driver's right foot tended to push harder on the throttle pedal as there is no feedback. When the limiter was turned off the test cars accelerated at different rates. BANG!!!!

Sledgehammer to crack a nut? The next 'idea' from these nutters will be to put slots in the road 'scaletrix style' you program your journey and the Government have the speed controller, no accidents and no traffic jams:rolleyes:.

I would rather see better education on driving skills and awarness for drivers than devices on cars that will cause more problems.

Bad driving, poor planning, poor decision making, etc.

Chris

Ok, to put it another way then, you go to overtake a car who's driver is chatting on the phone and not realised they have slowed down to 50 mph.

You go to overtake and are in their blindspot as they realise they are going slower and speed up, leaving you stranded in the wrong lane at exactly the same speed.

You planned your manouver fine. you were driving safely and made a decision that is both legal and safe, but you can't get past the other driver.

We've all seen the hassle from HGV's on motorways who go to overtake, then reach a hill and take up 6 miles of two lanes, slowing everyone down around them. Its about to get alot worse if this happens with cars.

You go to overtake and are in their blindspot as they realise they are going slower and speed up, leaving you stranded in the wrong lane at exactly the same speed.

You planned your manouver fine. you were driving safely and made a decision that is both legal and safe, but you can't get past the other driver.

If you planned your manoeuvre fine then why was the driver you were about to overtake not aware of your presence? Sounds like poor planning to me Continuing without them recognising you're there is a poor decision, imho, and puts you in a position you don't really want to be in because they are unpredictable. How many times do you read about people going for overtakes only for the overtakee to "suddenly" decide to take a right turn?

The above situation can also occur with no speed-limiters. You go to overtake a driver who then "wakes up". What do you do - race them and chance your car is faster/you have bigger balls or abort the overtake?

Chris

Another gem from the government ! Easier just to "chip" people and be done with it, then "big brother" can track you wherever you are.Problem solved.

Seem to recall a programme about this a few years ago.

The drivers who tried the vehicle fitted with the auto limiter ended up making more driving errors because they got bored quicker from not being in complete control of the vehicle.

This was measured through eye positioning (where the driver was looking) and car positioning on the road.

What a great way of causing accidents.

They experimented with this (on test tracks) in the US. The problem was as vehicles left the school/construction zones, there were loads of rear-end crashes. In the 25 zones, with the limiter on, the driver's right foot tended to push harder on the throttle pedal as there is no feedback. When the limiter was turned off the test cars accelerated at different rates. BANG!!!!

Perhaps this was not a fully developed system. It would be a pretty obvious negative outcome to be avoided by any competent system designer. Not an insoluble problem, I would have thought - a moving line display showing what the driver is demanding at the throttle pedal compared with what the speed limiting software is demanding from the engine - the instruction to the driver being to just visually line up the two before leaving the zone, or better still, left software do it automatically via a motorised accelerator pedal on the return motion, or pulses to tell the driver to lift his/her right foot, like ABS.

I think this sort of thing is going to become more and more prevalent, a bit like the in-cab signalling and control systems in planes, trains and ships. When you consider that most of the major auto manufacturers, including VAG, have been experimenting with on- board radar based vehicle separation systems, which would presumably override throttle signals from whatever source. Rear ending would, in most circumstances become a thing of the past.

But they'll always be the Airbus type of issue affecting automated control systems - am I landing or taking-off ?

YouTube - Airbus A320 Plane Crash

Nick

Another gem from the government !

To be fair I think it's some advisory group rather than the government itself.

One of the quotes on the video says "Drivers would enjoy not having to think about it [ie their driving] so much". I don't think that encouraging people to think less about driving is a good thing.

To be fair I think it's some advisory group rather than the government itself.

One of the quotes on the video says "Drivers would enjoy not having to think about it [ie their driving] so much". I don't think that encouraging people to think less about driving is a good thing.

I'm not sure many people could think less.

From article "The speed-limiting devices will then use satellite positioning to check a vehicle's location and when its speed exceeds the limit, power will be reduced and the brakes applied if necessary. "

Ok -so what happens if the signal is lost .(like as in a tunnel /underground car park ,or when some prankster sticks a bit of tinfoil over the aerial):confused:

Second one -with fleet managers keen to promote their firms as champions of safety/creenness etc -and all lease cars are fitted with these -will it be once on -on for life .

Suggest the answer to the first question is "they fail to limit " and answer to second is "on for life " -so we'll then see lots of cars with tinfoil pie dishes on the roof :eek:

Then again it didn't work with HGVs -only caused more accidents (due to driver boredem) and more congestion on motorwayswith long ovetakes .

Sort of makes the old Irish joke about driving on the other side seem real (the one -"from Saturday all HGV,busses and vanswill drive on the left .And if that's a success .....":rofl:)

Let's face it. You've only got partial authority over 3/4 of vehicle control systems as it stands i.e. the EMU, ABS, and auto gearboxes can act to limit or modify your demands on these systems at the extremes of operation.

Next step of course, will be drive-by-wire steering and when you go to make that ill-judged overtaking/turning manoeuver you'll hear a "Bitching betty" telling you that your input is, albeit temporarily, "No longer required".

As said before, when increasing levels of authority are invested in semi-automatic systems to control vehicles the real problem that emerges, like the Airbus above, is to be able to correctly and accurately establish the vehicle situation and the driver's intention i.e. whether you're intending to brake or accelerate turn or straighten. The system also would have to be intelligent enough to understand out-of-control situations and guage their extent accurately.

Nick

I was just about to type that this will never happen as the GPS accuracy currently available to non military is only accurate to <10m or so..........but when Galileo gets launched in approx 2013 they hope that to be <4m and down as much as <10cm with "ground repeaters"............

Of course though, with any radio signal a touch of shielding with an appropriate metal would do the trick.........

Steve

Of course though, with any radio signal a touch of shielding with an appropriate metal would do the trick.........

Steve

Or depending on it's modulation system ,another signal source with no modulation .

Although all this dependancy on modern technology makes me wonder how some of us older drivers lasted the pace - e.g , RWD cars ,with lively rear ends ,cross ply narrow tyres ,drum brakes ,narrow windy roads, and a situation where the heavies of the day could go almost as fast as us .But then we had no speed cameras ,only a highly efective traffic police .Again we had no limp wristed lefties whose only intention seems to be to make roads into cycle lanes ,and leave cars with a car lane .

What we really need now is a device to lock the front wheel of bikes(quickly) when the traffic light ahead is red (after a couple of years of crossbar bashing ,evelution would once more do the job )