Live data from Hacker News

Speed limiters now mandatory in all new EU cars

autoweek.com

331–340 of 401 posts

Re: Speed limiters now mandatory in all new EU cars

#331
post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This could make it impossible or dangerous to pass in many situations where it may be necessary to temporarily exceed the speed limit.

So if every car is following the speed limit, that is going as fast as they are allowed, why would any one person be passing someone else?

Roads commonly carry traffic at a different speeds than listed speed based on actual conditions, perception of conditions, condition and nature of vehicles and because speeds are often set inefficienctly.

Its not uncommon to see stretches with traffic constantly packed 4+ lanes going 75+ each way.

Trying to put the same burden of vehicles through at 65 with 300 ft between would be a joke. A given lane would carry less than half actual traffic. Bad traffic would become a city wide disaster.

Then consider that you can only impose this on a portion of drivers per year and drivers have to drive with those without governors indefinitely.

You also discount issues with safety by following at an appropriate distance. Trying to fall back 300 ft can only be achieved by driving too slow leading to both passing and people taking this new huge space whist giving you the finger leaving you with even less space.

Re: Speed limiters now mandatory in all new EU cars

#332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Clearly you’ve never driven in the EU. The usual follow distance here is about three meters, the “safe” one is five, any farther and you’re going to get a stream of cars overtaking you just to fill that void :) Regarding stones and lose cargo, they would hit you even 300m away as they bounce and quickly lose speed while you’re still flying into at them at 130km/h.

To be honest, I have driven in the EU, but really only on a technically. I rented a car when I visited a Spanish island and really only drove a hundred or two km. That said, I'm not talking about what people do, I'm talking about what is considered safe.

If it can't be practiced it doesn't matter what would theoretically be safe.

Re: Speed limiters now mandatory in all new EU cars

#333
post #260

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why will you _want_ to pass? Is that 10mph going to get you there _that_ much faster? If you were to follow that truck for all 1300 miles of 395 you would get to your destination 3 hours later than if you were going 70mph the whole way. I would doubt that anyone would want to drive for nearly 19 hours straight, unless you're doing some sort of cannonball run like challenge. If your destination is a mere 120 miles awa…

It's not always about getting there "faster". I regularly encounter trucks with unsecured loads, drivers visibly weaving, and other dangerous situations. I'm certainly not going to die on some "well this is the speed limit" hill behind them. Driving isn't some binary situation, you have to constantly predict erratic behavior and react to your surroundings.

You can always go slower and give yourself sufficient braking distance.

Re: Speed limiters now mandatory in all new EU cars

#334
post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The minimum amount of time in the oncoming lane is 0

Sure. But now you have to spend more money on adding lanes for the same traffic capacity because the average speed drops.

Road capacity usually increases as speed goes down.

Re: Speed limiters now mandatory in all new EU cars

#335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>There will be four ways in which ISA systems will work to slow the vehicle down, and it will be up to the manufacturers to pick which one they want to use. The EU regulations permit a system that can use a cascaded acoustic warning, a cascaded vibrating warning, an accelerator pedal with haptic feedback, or a speed control function in which the speed of the vehicle will be gradually reduced. Haptic feedback isn't go…

How many people lift their foot from the brake pedal the first time they experience the antilock system activating?

The first time you experience that should be around the third or fourth driving lesson.

Re: Speed limiters now mandatory in all new EU cars

#336
post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This could make it impossible or dangerous to pass in many situations where it may be necessary to temporarily exceed the speed limit.

So if every car is following the speed limit, that is going as fast as they are allowed, why would any one person be passing someone else?

if the car is going slower than the limit but you have a very limited window of time to pass it, the only way is to temporarily go above the speed limit.

Re: Speed limiters now mandatory in all new EU cars

#337

This is one example of legislation that mandates fantasy tech that doesn't exist. You'd think that something as simple as speed limiter should be very easy to implement, and it couldn't be further from the truth - watch any review of a car with this tech and every reviewer will complain that it's not the presence of the system that's the problem, it's the fact that it constantly gets the speed limit wrong. Either rea…

If we can’t even reliably know what the speed limit is, how can we even be close to self driving cars? Not only is it a way simpler problem, but it’s actually a requirement for self driving also.

That. I am thus convinced we are decades away from self driving cars capable of taking you home via a dirt road. And unfortunately, the entire value proposition of self driving cars only unfolds if you really can go anywhere, like a cab driver could.

“Sorry m’am, I can go any any further on this road, please get out and carry your luggage over the remaining mile”. And then of course it’d be raining under the scorching sun, I guarantee you that.

Re: Speed limiters now mandatory in all new EU cars

#338

This is one example of legislation that mandates fantasy tech that doesn't exist. You'd think that something as simple as speed limiter should be very easy to implement, and it couldn't be further from the truth - watch any review of a car with this tech and every reviewer will complain that it's not the presence of the system that's the problem, it's the fact that it constantly gets the speed limit wrong. Either rea…

Smart(er) roads. A lot of this stuff becomes simpler if there is complementary tech on infrastructure. Instead of relying on reading 20th century tech (signs).

Sure, which is another fantasy tech - my country doesn't have money to do basic road maintanance, but it will find money to change millions of street signs into "smart" ones? Very very doubtful.

Re: Speed limiters now mandatory in all new EU cars

#339
post #92
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have relatives who got killed by a speeder you may think differently.

The slight speed increase that ordinary people do does not kill people. We aren't talking about people going freeway speed in a residential area.

The "normal" speeding in residential areas absolutely does increase the chance of death and injury in a collision with a pedestrian or cyclist.

  K = m v²
That energy increases with the square of the speed, and has to go somewhere (person's body) in a collision.

Re: Speed limiters now mandatory in all new EU cars

#340

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How close do you find yourself to the truck in front of you? Safe follow distances are, At 65MPH, I'm assuming you're in the US, is approximately 300 feet. I'd be kind of shocked that you're getting stones hitting you and detectable fumes 300 feet away.

Clearly you’ve never driven in the EU. The usual follow distance here is about three meters, the “safe” one is five, any farther and you’re going to get a stream of cars overtaking you just to fill that void :) Regarding stones and lose cargo, they would hit you even 300m away as they bounce and quickly lose speed while you’re still flying into at them at 130km/h.

Don't generalise the whole EU when you know it's obviously wrong.
Post reply on HN