Taking a cue from a current advice by the Nationwide Transportation Security Board, a legislative proposal in California would require that new automobiles be geared up with “intelligent” pace restrictive expertise to restrict pace in particular areas.
If it had been to cross, the invoice, put ahead by San Francisco state Sen. Scott Wiener, would require automobiles and vans of the 2027 mannequin yr or later which might be constructed or offered in California to incorporate pace governors that might prohibit motorists from driving greater than 10 mph over posted pace limits.
The pace “governor” expertise depends on GPS knowledge or automobile cameras to cap car speeds primarily based on the place the automobile is driving. As an example, automobiles wouldn’t have the ability to drive quicker than 80 mph on state highways with a posted 70 mph pace. In residential neighborhoods, for instance, motorists must preserve their pace beneath 35 mph on streets with 25 mph limits.
A number of auto producers, corresponding to Hyundai, already supply pace governor options of their latest fashions, which some motorists make the most of as a type of cruise management, in response to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“We have speed limits, and they exist for a reason. And it’s perfectly reasonable to say you can’t travel more than 10 miles over the speed limit,” Wiener mentioned. “That’s what this bill will do. It’s very reasonable, and it’s an idea whose time has come.” The invoice exempts emergency automobiles, corresponding to ambulances and hearth vans, and the California Freeway Patrol would have the discretion to disable pace governors on their automobiles.
One issue motivating the passage of the invoice are reviews that pace components into a few third of visitors deaths throughout the nation, in response to the Nationwide Security Council. The Nationwide Freeway Security Administration estimated greater than 40,000 visitors fatalities in 2022.
Final November, the Nationwide Transportation Security Board, prompted by a multi-vehicle crash in North Las Vegas that resulted in 9 fatalities, really useful that the federal authorities “at a minimum” require pace limiters in automobiles that warn drivers after they’re rushing.