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Speed limiters now mandatory in all new EU cars

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Re: Speed limiters now mandatory in all new EU cars

#81
post #17

Bit funny how the article states that the systems are unobtrusive as to be essentially useless, which ignores the fact that these systems are defanged to appease entitled speeders. Governments around the world impose various requirements on vehicle speeds, most notably ebikes being capped at 20mph for "safety reasons". Meanwhile private cars can travel at over 100mph for no apparent reason other than to not upset dri…

The limit in Germany is 25kmh, which translates to around 15.5 mph. And yet we have quite some unlimited Autobahns. The 10% fastest cars on the Autobahn section near my home go 200kmh/125mph on average. You can guess what the top 5% or 1% drive.

That's the contrast we live with.

Re: Speed limiters now mandatory in all new EU cars

#82
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would have to guess you can't speed up to pass another vehicle (think bus or truck, or maybe a dangerous situation) and then you will piss off anyone in the fast lane who does not have these limiters.

Cant speak to europe, but in the US you're not supposed to speed up past the speed limit to pass someone, that's illegal. We also don't have "fast lanes" (ie like how the autobahn has sections with no speed limit), we only have passing lanes, but the speed limit still applies in the passing lane. You're not supposed to stay in the left lane for very long

Fast lane probably meant left/passing lane, not unrestricted roads. That you're not supposed to stay in them long is part of why people speed up to pass, otherwise it takes a minute seconds to gain 60 feet on that semi going just under.

Speaking to the US as a whole on traffic law is hard to do. E.g. in Washington it is absolutely legal to exceed the speed limit to pass someone on the highway, in California it isn't. In California it's illegal to sit in the fast lane, in Minnesota it's not. In Minnesota you can turn right on certain reds, in DC you can't.

Re: Speed limiters now mandatory in all new EU cars

#83
post #18

This is terrifying. I routinely cross a bridge with a 30ton weight limit, which my car mistakes for a 30km/h speed limit sign. I would cause an average of 2 accidents per month if I suddenly slowed from 70 to 30 and the people behind me weren't paying attention. The technology is _not_ there and this won't save lives, potentially it will cause deaths. (Yes I read the article, this is initially only "for the driver's…

Literally everything causes death. The question is: will this prevent more deaths from speeding than it causes from mistaken slowdowns?

I used the ACC with automatic speed recognition for about two months but it did too many stupid brakings. I think using GPS to limit to the highest possible speed for highway/roads/city would be fine. But as long as the car can decide that on this highway it really thinks the 40 sign is for the main lane and not the off ramp, I would rather not have it

Re: Speed limiters now mandatory in all new EU cars

#84
Seems like a net positive change to me, assuming the tech doesn't succumb to some of the FUD takes here (and/or can be improved over time...).

I've had family killed by speeders. I've had friends and family permanently maimed and disabled by speeders. For people who think speed limits are just a suggestion or don't always apply, I can see how this would be "annoying". But the point of speed limits are for driving safety -- something humans are notably absolutely terrible at as a species. Anything that enforces them a bit better than the limited (and tbh flawed) resource of just traffic stops is an improvement in my book.

Re: Speed limiters now mandatory in all new EU cars

#85
post #18

This is terrifying. I routinely cross a bridge with a 30ton weight limit, which my car mistakes for a 30km/h speed limit sign. I would cause an average of 2 accidents per month if I suddenly slowed from 70 to 30 and the people behind me weren't paying attention. The technology is _not_ there and this won't save lives, potentially it will cause deaths. (Yes I read the article, this is initially only "for the driver's…

Literally everything causes death. The question is: will this prevent more deaths from speeding than it causes from mistaken slowdowns?

Is the category of "deaths from speeding" large enough to justify any action whatsoever? Are "deaths from speeding" typically single vehicle or multiple vehicle accidents? Why does the Autobahn still not have speed limits on large parts of the road and why does this not cause massive problems?

Re: Speed limiters now mandatory in all new EU cars

#86
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed that the general case is hard to solve. I think you could at least make a case for solving a simpler problem. What's the highest legal speed limit in the country in which the car was sold? Set a global speed limit to that.

That will finally stop the Swiss from speeding in Germany

I mean no, because there's (as of July 2024) no speed limit on the Autobahn.

Re: Speed limiters now mandatory in all new EU cars

#87
The problem with automated enforcement of laws like this, is that the laws were not written for 100% automatic enforcement.

Everyone who has ever followed a car driving 5 mph below the speed limit on a two-lane road knows that it is basically impossible to ever pass them while staying under the speed limit. Legally, that's what you're supposed to do, but everyone - the police, the legislators, the courts, and drivers - understands that in practice it's acceptable to exceed the speed limit a bit when making a pass.

This is just one of countless areas in which the law is not actually written with the expectation of being enforced 100% of the time.

Re: Speed limiters now mandatory in all new EU cars

#88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed that the general case is hard to solve. I think you could at least make a case for solving a simpler problem. What's the highest legal speed limit in the country in which the car was sold? Set a global speed limit to that.

Doesn't the autobahn have unrestricted sections with no speed limit?

It does. And people drive between countries all the time in Europe, I personally drive through Germany few times a year and I'd hate it if my car had a speed limit purely because I bought it outside of Germany. But perhaps that's somewhat of an edge case that would work with a simple GPS geofence.

Re: Speed limiters now mandatory in all new EU cars

#89
post #18

This is terrifying. I routinely cross a bridge with a 30ton weight limit, which my car mistakes for a 30km/h speed limit sign. I would cause an average of 2 accidents per month if I suddenly slowed from 70 to 30 and the people behind me weren't paying attention. The technology is _not_ there and this won't save lives, potentially it will cause deaths. (Yes I read the article, this is initially only "for the driver's…

This uses GPS data, not optical recognition

The real test is whether is able to understand that you are driving on the highway under a bridge and not on the bridge with much slower traffic.

It happened to me once while driving an ID4 on a 110km/h highway and it slowed down to 50km/h under the bridge.

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