Auto Speed Limiters On Cars, Why Not?

[RATTER15]

Why would auto speed limiters on motor vehicles not be a good idea?

So that when you drive in to a speed restricted area like a town or village, your vehicle would pass some type of sensor that would restrict your speed to the regulation speed limit.

Clearly the technology is already out there and all vehicles would need to be fitted with an electronic device.

I imagine there are reasons why it has not been done, just not sure why.
Personally I would hate it! I am just curious.

[RATTER15]

This could also be used by the police to bring a car to a stop by activating an engine cut out with a hand held device pointed at the car.

[EDDIE51]

There was a discussion on 'driverless cars' a while back, this would be a first step along that road. It is worthless unless every single vehicle on the road is fitted and with no way to disengage it.
The arguments for and against computer controlled driverless cars are the same for this.
My vehicle Zafira tourer already has speed restriction settings you can set it to any speed,I have it set so that it is impossible to exceed 75 mph unless I first disengage the restrictor. I also set it to 30 mph if I am going any distance in a 30 limit, saves constantly looking at the speedo.

[woofgang]

Well I can think of a few things....it would need to be done to ALL cars within a very short timescale because it would be unsafe to mix governed and ungoverned cars; also the speed reduction would have to be gradual..... as when you slow your car down now, so that’s not just one sensor but more I would imagine. The next is tenuous but I will say it....twice in my life I have avoided an accident by accelerating..I know its rare but both times it has been when someone pulled out of a side turning onto the main road and I was bang broadside on to them. Luckily the road ahead was clear. If my speed had been governed, I would have been broadsided.
The other thing to consider is the risks of system failure which would be huge. Its a different issue from a top speed governor which is a much simpler affair.

[RATTER15]

Eddie, my work car also has a speed restrictor fitted and I need it, the works cars are tracked for speed and location.

I do drive fast, I hate dawdling and have had many fines and endorsements over the years for speeding. I currently have a clean licence though :-)

[CrapAtCryptics]

Quite a number of modern cars have the speed governing facility or at least cruise control but you only have to drive through an average speed section to see how many people dont care.

[RATTER15]

Woof, "twice in my life I have avoided an accident by accelerating..I know its rare but both times it has been when someone pulled out of a side turning onto the main road and I was bang broadside on to them."

I bet the incident of speeders have caused you issues many more times.

[mikey4444]

Ah...there you are Ratter !

[EDDIE51]

If I remember correctly in the argument for driverless cars there was a figure of 94% of all accidents being due to driver error. That is why it was argued driverless computer controlled cars would be so much safer , as long as 100% of cars were driverless of course.

[chiaroscuro]

If you have your speed limiter set you feel resistance in the accelerator pedal when you reach the set speed but if you press down harder it is overridden and you can accelerate away.

[Old_Geezer]

Off the top of my head:
Cost
Danger not to have the ability when needed
Civil rights not to be under surveillance by the State

[woofgang]

Ratter, those WERE incidents with speeders! If they hadn’t been speeding down the side roads towards the main road, they would have had time to stop!

[woofgang]

to add, I would have no problem at all with all vehicles being fitted with a top speed governor but again, all would have to be done at once...a much easier option though as needs no infrastructure.

[woofgang]

EDDIE, isn’t that a logic error?

EDDIE51
If I remember correctly in the argument for driverless cars there was a figure of 94% of all accidents being due to driver error. That is why it was argued driverless computer controlled cars would be so much safer

[wiltsman]

/// I do drive fast, I hate dawdling and have had many fines and endorsements over the years for speeding. I currently have a clean licence though :-) ///

Ratter, without making any comments on your driving, I would like to know if you had financial penalties imposed on your insurance when you had fines for speeding. Personally, I was fined for speeding at 36mph in a 30mph zone about eight years ago. It was five years before my insurance went back to 'normal'.

[andy-hughes]

Ratter - //Woof, "twice in my life I have avoided an accident by accelerating..I know its rare but both times it has been when someone pulled out of a side turning onto the main road and I was bang broadside on to them." //

I remember my dad teaching me to drive forty-four years ago, and saying to me then, you can never brake out of trouble, you can only accelerate out of trouble.

It's as true now as it was then.

[BRIGHT SPARK]

a-h......so if someone pulls out in front of you..how do you avoid trouble..do you brake or accelerate?

[RATTER15]

andy-hughes. "I remember my dad teaching me to drive forty-four years ago, and saying to me then, you can never brake out of trouble, you can only accelerate out of trouble.

It's as true now as it was then."

I dont agree, I'm sure we have all braked out of trouble at some point!

wiltsman, To be honest I dont really know if I was penalised by my insurers, it never stated so on my insurance documents.


In my youth I was very heavily penalised, after totting up 47 endorsements on my licence, but never got banned. The only company that would insure me was "Cloverleaf" at £300 per quarter, third party only, and that was 40 years ago.

[ToraToraTora]

incredibly dangerous, NO!