Currently, all new vehicles sold in European Union countries are required to have a speed-warning device installed in them that issues an alert – of either the acoustic or haptic kind – to their driver when they have exceeded the locally-posted speed limit.
In addition to those alerts, automakers are also allowed by the European Commission to include physical measures that allow the vehicle in question to actively resist going over the speed limit, such as the accelerator pedal applying counterpressure against the driver’s foot, or a digitally-enforced speed cap tied to the local limit. Although drivers have the option to deactivate these systems, they will automatically be set “on” by default each and every time the vehicle is started.
And now, the state of California is looking to do a similar thing with a new piece of legislation that is currently up for consideration.
Senate Bill 961, if passed, will require speed-warning systems to be installed in almost all 2030 model year vehicles sold in the state equipped with either GPS or a front-facing camera to provide both visual and audio warnings if the driver exceeds the local speed limit by over 10 miles per hour. Like its EU counterpart, the system will be able to be disabled by the driver, but will always be active at startup by default.
Those in favor of the bill argue that lives will be saved, given the fact that 8,236 people – or 18 percent, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) – of the people killed in motor accidents in 2022 were done so by vehicles exceeding the speed limit.
However, some experts question just how effective such systems are in real-world application, given the fact that research shows the majority of drivers tend to find the visual or audio warnings annoying, making it more likely they will simply shut them off every time they start their vehicle. There is also the question of the warning system’s potential inability to interpret the correct speed limits in their immediate vicinity, such as obscured physical signs, school zones, or limits that only apply at certain times of the day.
The long-term effectiveness of speed-warning devices remains to be seen but new regulation keeps coming.
Christopher Boyle is an investigative journalist, videographer, reporter and writer for SEARCHEN NETWORKS® as well as other independent news and media organizations in the United States. Christopher works on a wide variety of topics and fields, has been featured in print and online in a variety of publications, from local to national, and helps keep a keen-eye on what’s happening in the automotive world for Auto Buyers Market.