Brickbat: Life in the Slow Lane

The California state Senate has passed a bill that would require speed governors on all new cars manufactured or sold in California by 2032. These devices would give drivers "audible and visual signals" when they exceed the speed limit by more than 10 miles per hour. The bill's sponsor, Sen. Scott Wiener (D–San Francisco), says the measure will reduce traffic accidents and deaths.

Comments

[JeremyR]

Can't speak for modern cars, but Ford put one in their 1990 Thunderbird. When you reached 110 mph, it would slow down and not go any faster.

Unless you changed the dash from Imperial to Metric. Then it would go faster.

[defaultdotxbe]

Every car I've owned from model year 1994 onward has had a fixed governor like that. This is different, its supposed to alert you when you exceed the speed limit on the street you are current on. Which means GPS and some sort of mapping software in every car. Plus regular software updates since speed limits can change, and new roads get built.

[Bubba Jones]

I have this in my BMW. The HUD indicator turns red when you exceed by 5 mph.

10 is arguably better because it's the threshold where you're more likely to get a ticket.

That said, it's often wrong because it doesn't know what time the school zones are, or the database is just plain inaccurate.

[psmoot]

So does mine, except it nags me whenever I exceed the posted limit by even 1 MPH.

I'd keep it turned on if it warned me at 10 or 15 MPH but one is just too annoying so it's off.

The sad thing is, this will be integrated into the dashboard computer. There won't be discrete device I can yeet out of the engine. I'm hoping manufacturers include cheat codes to disable it, although they'll have to swear on a stack of Bibles that was an accident.

[TJJ2000]

Gov-Ran transportation industry.
Gov-Ran energy industry.
Gov-Ran education industry.
Gov-Ran mortgage/housing industry.
Gov-Ran media.
Gov-Ran retirement living.
Gov-Ran etc, etc, etc, etc………….

Yes; They are *really* [Na]tional So[zi]alist[s].

[Eeyore]

What about the kill switch mandated federally by 2026? Anybody think that is a good idea? Wait till that gets hacked and thousands of new cars suddenly stop on the highway during rush hour.

[defaultdotxbe]

Or the passive-air alcohol detectors. I wonder how often those will end up shutting down a car if a passenger is drunk.

[jimc5499]

There isn't a sensor in existence that can detect only Ethyl Alcohol (the alcohol in alcoholic beverages). They detect Methyl Groups. Things like gasoline, naphtha, isopropyl alcohol, and other chemicals. Spill a little gasoline on your shoe while filling up, your car isn't going anywhere. Light a cigarette with a Zippo lighter, your car isn't going anywhere. Work a shift in a hospital and use alcohol based hand sanitizers, your car isn't going anywhere.
This is a large part of the problem with breathalyzers as well.

[mad.casual]

This is a large part of the problem with breathalyzers as well.

Spill a lot of gasoline into your lungs when you fill up a car do you?

Not to advocate for the use of either mandate or methodology, but the two problems are not the same, nor do they use the same technology.

You aren't helping people rationalize why they should or shouldn't use any given technology or forego any mandate. You're just making anyone who associates with you in your cause look like a moron.

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

Hacked? Wait until the next pandemic, social unrest, climate emergency, or Inner Party member motorcade.

[AT]

I mean, it’s really just a matter of accessing your fusebox and yanking a few of them. Same way you can get your car to stop spying on you and reporting back to manufacturers/insurers. Yea, you’ll lose some of the hip cool techy functionality – but, priorities.

Same reason you toss your phone/tablet/wearables into a faraday cage before you get behind the wheel.

[defaultdotxbe]

I'm sure CA will mandate if the system is disabled the car is limited to 20mph at all times.

[Longtobefree]

Not likely.
It will lock the doors and deliver you to the nearest cop.

[ObviouslyNotSpam]

Don't give them any ideas. Limiting all vehicles to 20mph at all times would "save at least one life," so if that is the standard, the writing is on the wall.

[psmoot]

I'm suspicious they also want a unilateral kill switch so they can disable all ICEs in 2035.

[Will Nonya]

Disabling these functions is not nearly as simple as just pulling some fuses. These are often so tightly integrated that the hip new functionality you lose would be a functioning vehicle...

Try driving a new car with a dead head unit, what used to be the radio.

[psmoot]

Are you sure? I'm guessing this is just going to be a function of the dashboard computer. It already has (or will have) a GPS, map, and your speed. There's no need for extra hardware. And I'm pretty sure neither of my last two (and maybe three) cars would work if the computer running the dashboard was disabled.

[Chumby]

This should help reverse the recent loss of 800,000 Cali residents to other places.

[Earth-based Human Skeptic]

Meh. What do you think immigrants are for?

[Fist of Etiquette]

How are municipalities going to fill their budgets if they can't issue speeding tickets? How are insurance companies going to up premiums if no one gets a speed violation on their record?

[sarcasmic]

I was thinking the same thing. Traffic enforcement is about revenue, not safety.

[Will Nonya]

Decades ago this "speed warning" was proposed as a part of ODB3 but included the provision that it would report your speeding to the authorities. Once it is mandatory that all vehicles have this tracking and awareness reporting is a much smaller step.

[Mockamodo]

Maybe they'll start enforcing traffic laws that actually pertain to safety, like tailgating, illegal lane changes, NASCAR style driving in heavy traffic. Speeding is rarely the actual cause of an accident, it only makes the result of actually dangerous driving worse.

[Mockamodo]

Honest officer, I had no idea I was doing 100, I just thought everyone was driving really slow. If only my car would tell me when I drive over the limit.

[rbike]

My wife's Ebike kit is setup to limit the speed to less than 21 mph. If course, I set the wheel setting to the smallest wheel size so that it will do 28.

[mad.casual]

LOL. So, if you go downhill does the motor work to actively slow the bike?

[Longtobefree]

Just for the record; skynet is not your friend.

[Longtobefree]

Also for the record; the spell checker wants skynet capitalized.

[mad.casual]

And, for the record, does your spell checker want "black" capitalized too?

[Sometimes a Great Notion]

Did anyone tell Wiener, that cars already have a nifty device that tells you your speed aptly named a speedometer?

[Jerry B.]

"Weiner"

How appropriate.

[Will Nonya]

But those are passive devices and not nearly annoying enough. Once you learn to ignore their new warnings they will simply have your car tattle on you to the fuzz.

[Longtobefree]

I am going to close out my retirement account and buy all the pre-1968 cars I can - - -

[Rick James]

As long as the speed governors are free from Trump tariffs, I'm good with it.

[Davedave]

Speed 'governor', huh? That's a blatant lie even by Reason's usual standards for brickbats. They couldn't even keep up the pretence into the next sentence.

A speed _warning_ is very different to a governor, obviously.