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Volvo is introducing a 112mph speed limiter to all its new cars

arstechnica.com

261–270 of 277 posts

Re: Volvo is introducing a 112mph speed limiter to all its new cars

#261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Definitely. Like, there's no such thing as a gun accident. If someone ever accidentally gets shot, it means someone wasn't following one of the prime rules of gun safety.

There have definitely been recalls/warnings for firearms which have misfired without anyone's finger on the trigger. https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2018/06/investigates/sig-sau...

Certainly. I recall seeing a video of a pump shotgun firing while the safety was on.

But as long as you always treat your firearms as loaded and never point it at something you're not willing to kill or destroy, you shouldn't have any "accidents".

Re: Volvo is introducing a 112mph speed limiter to all its new cars

#262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>that range is only 43% of my analog speedometer. I don't know why electronic display isn't more of a thing. My 13 year old Toyota displays the number using LED lights, it's far easier to read.

It takes more effort to read a number, than a relative position on a gauge. Yeah, you don't know the exact speed, but you do know the rough speed while taking your eyes off the road and being distracted for less time. Of course, a lot of new cars can do both. ;-)

No it's not. Digital display makes me costantly aware of my speed. Analog gauge makes me focus on 1cm of length and bunch of nearby numbers to figure out the speed. And for rough estimation I just look outside.

Re: Volvo is introducing a 112mph speed limiter to all its new cars

#263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But the big problem is the roads and the culture around speed. America doesn't have either of those things, and probably never will. A culture of safety is not a "big problem" IMO. The "big problem" is that a vehicle at 120mph requires an insane stopping distance. On dry asphalt: * 60mph: 172 ft * 120mph: 688 ft [1] http://forensicdynamics.com/stopping-braking-distance-calcul...

Doesn't this stopping distance depend on the car? Said German cars have bigger breaks and bigger tyre surface and have been proven to stop quicker. Top Gear showed this often (Australian trip with the m6, Bentley and gtr) all stopping in less than half the Highway Code distance...)

Since cars and trucks weight vary highly, there is actually a norm that sets how big the breaks should be so that everyone has the same emergency halting distance. This diminishes the chances of a pile-up.

Re: Volvo is introducing a 112mph speed limiter to all its new cars

#264
post #68

Great. Now just make an automatic transmission that's not a pile of junk.

The Ford/GM 10 speed is a heck of a transmission. Porsche has TDM. Anything with dual-clutch can be automatic. Auto transmissions aren't as bad as they used to be.

Re: Volvo is introducing a 112mph speed limiter to all its new cars

#265
post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stopping distance does depend on the car, but physics has a bigger influence. The kinetic energy in a car is 1/2mv^2. No matter what car you're in, going twice as fast requires dissipating four times the energy in order to stop. So, take a sporty car with twice the braking performance of a basic car, and you can go 1.44x as fast as the basic car while still having the same stopping distance. I have a very light car t…

Reaction time has an even bigger influence. Slower speed = more reaction time

Distance covered during reaction time scales linearly with speed, while distance covered under braking goes up exponentially.

Re: Volvo is introducing a 112mph speed limiter to all its new cars

#266
post #240

A fine example of segmentation. Most Volvo customers don't buy Volvos because they're fast cars. They buy them because they are safe cars.

Well, there is their Polestar [0] performance division, which suggests there is such a market...? 0. https://www.volvocars.com/uk/cars/new-models/s60/variants/po...

There are quite a few M's compared to regular BMWs. How many Polestars does Volvo sell compared to their regular models?

Re: Volvo is introducing a 112mph speed limiter to all its new cars

#267
post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But the big problem is the roads and the culture around speed. America doesn't have either of those things, and probably never will. A culture of safety is not a "big problem" IMO. The "big problem" is that a vehicle at 120mph requires an insane stopping distance. On dry asphalt: * 60mph: 172 ft * 120mph: 688 ft [1] http://forensicdynamics.com/stopping-braking-distance-calcul...

I think my broader point is really that, as assistive tech continues to increase in reliability and deployment breadth, Speed is something we as a society should consider raising. German cars are feel AMAZING at high speeds. They're not the only ones, but dollar for dollar its easier to take a German car to 120 than any other nationality. Why? Because they're made to be driven on the Autobahn. They are, all else equa…

There's a big problem with your idea of letting cars drive faster: the drivers.

German drivers are simply not like American drivers. American drivers have almost no training at all, and certainly don't have the training or discipline necessary to drive at Autobahn speeds. American drivers can't even practice proper lane etiquette (staying right except to pass), and really don't understand it.

The last thing American roads need is any assumption that American drivers are remotely like German drivers in ability.

Remember, in America, almost everyone drives because there's no public transit in most places, and even where it exists, it's kinda lousy at best. In Germany, it's perfectly possible to get around without a car, unless you're going to small villages or towns or rural places. Because of this, not all Germans drive! It costs a lot of money to get the private training required to obtain a license there, and driver testing is strict. None of this is true in America.

Finally, if you want bullet trains, build bullet trains. Bullet trains are very safe at speed because they're on rails, and are maintained by professionals on a strict schedule. You don't get that with privately-owned vehicles. And cars are horrifically bad for pollution and fuel economy compared to trains when operating at high speeds. We're spewing way too much carbon into the atmosphere as it is. If you want to move people around faster, you need to build the proper infrastructure for this, like the Japanese have with the Shinkansen.

Re: Volvo is introducing a 112mph speed limiter to all its new cars

#268
post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of these cars are not fitted with tires that can safely handle that speed. It would be a dangerous thing to try, even on a track, if the car is not properly prepped beforehand.

Not not sure why you're getting downvotes. I'm an amateur race car driver (Champcar). Our Honda Civic is fitted with a professional roll cage, hans device and fire suppression system (not to mention the fireproof suit and helmet). I'd be nervous in any vehicle over 100mph without these added protections.

Wait... correct me if I'm wrong, but a HANS device doesn't connect to the seat or other car parts. It's a link between the helmet and a stabilizing piece that fits over the shoulders.

At least, in Formula 1 that's what it is.

Re: Volvo is introducing a 112mph speed limiter to all its new cars

#269

So my current car tops out at 163MPH (not a Tesla). Being in the Bay Area (a large parking lot is how I would describe the freeways) the chance of every going that fast is zero. It is possible (no admission of guilt) that I may have hit 120MPH once or twice very late at night on the I280. That being said, this limit bugs my libertarian views. The issue is of course all the people in a car that can hit a stupid level…

This limit shouldn't bug you at all. If it's voluntary (you buy the car without coercion), there is nothing wrong about it.

disclosure: I'm a hard-core libertarian myself.

Re: Volvo is introducing a 112mph speed limiter to all its new cars

#270
post #251
post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lower speed rating also usually means lighter construction and a 'harder' compound, both of which reduce cost and improve fuel milage.

Actually it's the opposite I believe, at least for the same family of tires. Sure there are high efficiency tires with harder compounds and are more efficient. But if you get the sporty tire from whatever brand the higher speed ratings generally have the less flexible/harder material. The limiting factor being the heat generated from the flexing builds up. So generally a 150 mph rated tire gets less traction, costs m…

Conceptually that may be true, but it's next to impossible to get performance tires in speed ratings under W and within any particular model it often varies only by 1, rarely 2, speed ratings.
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