You can't drive too fast if your car really can't go any faster: a senator in California is proposing that and more.
To put it very simply: people drive too fast because they can. If you have a 600 hp car with a top speed of 300 km/h, the only thing stopping you from driving that fast is your own willpower. Where hopefully things like responsiveness if things go wrong or at least the amount of a speeding fine at those kinds of speeds are taken into consideration. But as said, if you press the gas, your car will work. In California, this may soon change.
California will electronically limit cars
Senator Scott Wiener (don't laugh) is launching a bill summarized under the catchy acronym SAFER. This stands for Speeding and Fatality Reduction on California Streets. SAFROCS was apparently already occupied. Joking aside, they are going to tackle speeding rigorously. The spearhead of the proposal is that by 2027 every car must be equipped with an electronic limiter that works with GPS. This ensures that the car always knows how fast you are allowed on the road in question and the speed is limited to 10 miles per hour above the applicable speed limit. Tasty big brother-ish, so. Other changes include making underbody protection mandatory on trucks, so that no cars, cyclists or pedestrians can get between the wheels of trucks. Zebra crossings will also be improved, as will sidewalks and curbs to protect pedestrians.
“You don't have to be so hard”
An independent study showed that there has been a significant increase in the number of traffic fatalities in California, especially since the pandemic. This is an increase of 22 percent traffic fatalities compared to three years ago, with 4,400 victims last year in California. “These alarming figures call for immediate action,” said Wiener (still not laughing). He adds the most anti-petrolhead line you'll hear today: “there's no reason to drive over 100 miles per hour (161 km/h).”
Big Brother
We already said: it will be whole big brother-ish so, which is also criticism that Senator Wiener has already heard and processed. Opposing voices say that this gives the government too much of a say. Wiener sees it differently. “It is not too much influence of the government, moreover, many people will agree and a small group will protest. Speed limits are there to keep to and speed kills.” To which we would like to add the Clarkson wisdom that the abrupt stop is the fatal part.
What now? Well, it only concerns the state of California in the US, although they do have the entire American car industry in their pocket. The state is so important that they can really enforce that the entire industry builds cars in a certain way. Then, if every car has the hardware for a speed limit, other states or even other countries could follow suit. It will also not have the full effect immediately, since it concerns every car delivered from 2027 onwards. Everything built before 2027 does not yet have the hardware, so those owners can still blow at full speed. Although there are of course solutions for that too. Finally, you can hope that the system can also register that you are in a safe location such as a race track. The fun of a Porsche 911 GT3 RS quickly wears off when the car stops accelerating at 130 km/h. (through The Drive)
Photo credit: A Ferrari F12berlinetta in California, by @spotcrewda on Autoblog Spots.
This article California wants to electronically limit EVERY CAR first appeared on Autoblog.nl.
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