Interactive speed limiters

[Graham Wright]

If introduced, will these be good or bad.

I for one, would be childishly over the moon to see the Audi and BMW prats forced to toe the line.

[gannet]

What do you mean by 'interactive speed limiters' ?

[Graham Wright]

What do you mean by 'interactive speed limiters' ?

An EU proposal;- a vehicle reads a speed limit sign and applies the vehicle's brakes until its speed equals the limit.

[gannet]

what if the 'vehicle' gets it wrong? I can think of many places where it is possible to read two sets of signs and where it isn't clear which applies to which road. There is a road I was on recently (Sunday) that is actually as posted NSL in one direction and 50 in the other...

How would it treat different classes of vehicle with different speed limits - despite that which is posted?

Sounds to me like another half baked EU idea that hasn't been thought through

[jont]

Can they read signage buried in the trees?
What about implicit 30s?

/anyway, if it's image recognition it's not going to be rocket science to put a sticker over the camera

Could we also have a limiter that meant LAs could only impose limits that complied with the DfT guidelines?

[hir]

Sounds to me like another half baked EU idea that hasn't been thought through

Agreed.

Driving along a NSL country road yesterday I came across a 30mph speed limit sign at the entrance to a right-hand junction. The sign had been turned through 90 degrees to face me as I approached the junction; the sign's position incorrectly gave the impression of a change to 30mph on the main road. If the EU jobsworths idea had been in place I'd have been faced with the prospect of the next 10 miles at 30mph on fast, open, roads, being overtaken, hooted and gestured at by everyone driving a pre-speed limiter car!

The same outcome would apply if, when leaving a restricted area, the NSL signs are obscured by foliage or are missing.

[superplum]

So, how does the "system" differentiate between mph and kph each side of the channel? Could i legally drive at 130 (motorway) on my return from France?

[true blue]

Presumably they'd use a GPS based system with regularly updated maps showing speed limits? Of course, that would be unlikely to be effective at picking up, for example, motorway roadworks where the lower limit is short lived.

Who knows how they'd deal with off-road activities (be that driving across a campsite or on track)!

[Graham Wright]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/roa ... iters.html

As a start, 70 mph limiter would be easy to fit and would cure the high speed merchants.

During my company's presence at the Southampton Boat Show, I commuted along the A31. I guess that at 70 mph I passed 0.01% of others on the road. The remainder passed me at differential speeds up to 30-40 mph. Why are these speeds necessary?

The impact on the German car industry would be interesting!

[martine]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/road-safety/10278702/EU-plans-to-fit-all-cars-with-speed-limiters.html

As a start, 70 mph limiter would be easy to fit and would cure the high speed merchants.

During my company's presence at the Southampton Boat Show, I commuted along the A31. I guess that at 70 mph I passed 0.01% of others on the road. The remainder passed me at differential speeds up to 30-40 mph. Why are these speeds necessary?

The impact on the German car industry would be interesting!

Not sure even 70 limit on a motorway is straightforward to detect. Roadworks, managed motorways with lower speed limits on overhead gantries etc.

Why do many drivers exceed the 70 limit? Because many see it as outdated - we are out of step with most of the EU as well.

[Graham Wright]

Not sure even 70 limit on a motorway is straightforward to detect.
[/quote]

It doesn't need to be. 70 is an absolute limit.

[jameslb101]

Presumably they'd use a GPS based system with regularly updated maps showing speed limits? Of course, that would be unlikely to be effective at picking up, for example, motorway roadworks where the lower limit is short lived.

Yep, I'd have thought a GPS-based system is the only viable implementation. I imagine it'd also have 'live updates' to take into account temporary limits like motorway roadworks. In fact, everything except the connection to the brake lines is already there in a lot of satnav devices / apps.

[Graham Wright]

Presumably they'd use a GPS based system with regularly updated maps showing speed limits? Of course, that would be unlikely to be effective at picking up, for example, motorway roadworks where the lower limit is short lived.

……but you can switch off your satnav.

The thought of brakes being suddenly applied if you have not reduced your speed to that dictated, is worrying. There could be a battle between engine and brakes. Good for Ferodo though!

[jlsmith]

As a start, 70 mph limiter would be easy to fit and would cure the high speed merchants.

Is it an illness to be 'cured' to wish to drive above 70mph? I wonder why are some people still fixated on maintaining a 70mph limit which was set in the 1960s and is increasingly irrelevant and outdated?

[Graham Wright]

Is it an illness to be 'cured' to wish to drive above 70mph? I wonder why are some people still fixated on maintaining a 70mph limit which was set in the 1960s and is increasingly irrelevant and outdated?[/quote]

Yes! I believe that if you buy a high powered car, you feel obliged to drive it to exploit its potential. On our A31 commuting, I was frequently overtaken at 80, 90 and 100 mph generally by Audis, BMWs and Mercedes. Why? They were commuters as we saw many of them day after day. Why not set off 10 minutes earlier and drive at legal speeds? Some of them entering Southampton, were just a few cars ahead. What did their speeding achieve?

Whether the 70 limit is sensible is one thing. Breaking the law is another. Is the ADF advocating doing just that?