Federal Government to Mandate Speed Control?

[DriverDave]

I can just imagine the braking kicking in when the GPS tracker or whatever mistakes the 35 mph service road/exit ramp with the 70 mph highway. Or when lag occurs.

I've always thought cruise control had to be reset once aborted after braking/accelerating. Turns out in my Honda Civic it will accelerate back up to the set speed after resuming it. But it won't do it from a speed that's too far slower than the set speed. I tested this once on an entrance ramp. I had the cruise initially on 60 mph on a highway and hit resume when I was getting back on the highway from a ramp. It didn't accelerate automatically from 20 to 60. But it will from 40 or 50. It probably has to be within 10 or 20 mph of the set speed for safety reasons. Otherwise one could imagine accidentally hitting resume on a local street.

[Dirt Roads]

I've always thought cruise control had to be reset once aborted after braking/accelerating. Turns out in my Honda Civic it will accelerate back up to the set speed after resuming it. But it won't do it from a speed that's too far slower than the set speed. I tested this once on an entrance ramp. I had the cruise initially on 60 mph on a highway and hit resume when I was getting back on the highway from a ramp. It didn't accelerate automatically from 20 to 60. But it will from 40 or 50. It probably has to be within 10 or 20 mph of the set speed for safety reasons. Otherwise one could imagine accidentally hitting resume on a local street.

I'll test this out sometime.  Amazingly, Honda frequently updates the ACC/LKAS software such that I no clue what features have been changed.

[1995hoo]

I once decided to see whether the adaptive cruise control in my wife's Acura TLX would bring the car to a stop at a red light if cars ahead were already stopped. It did, though obviously you need to have a bit of a straightaway prior to the red light because it won't sense stopped vehicles around a curve. I seem to recall that the car accelerated on its own when the cars in front moved after the light turned green, but it was on a 35-mph road so it wasn't anything as extreme as trying to resume up to 60 mph.

That's not something I've tried again because usually when I drive that car, my wife is with me and she would freak out if I trusted the car to stop itself at a red light, so I use the brake (which in turn cancels the cruise control).

[J N Winkler]

I've personally never encountered a cruise control system in the wild that I trusted to accelerate up to the set speed in a measured fashion, without unnecessary wear and tear on the driveline.  Generally I accelerate to just above that speed, hit Resume, and let the car reach it by coasting down.

[seicer]

The adaptive cruise control system in recent Subaru models has seen significant improvements.

In my first Subaru, a 2013 Outback equipped with a first-generation CVT and standard cruise control, the performance on mountainous terrain was unsatisfactory. The vehicle struggled to find the right gear on steep grades, often resulting in higher engine revs compared to normal driving conditions.

My second Subaru, a 2016 Outback, featured an upgraded second-generation CVT and the third-generation Eyesight system. This model showed a slight improvement in handling steep grades.

However, it was with my latest Subaru, the 2022 Outback Wilderness, that I noticed a marked enhancement in performance. This model is equipped with a third-generation CVT, with a revised final drive ratio, a turbocharged engine, and a fourth-generation Eyesight system, making it remarkably effortless to drive on mountainous roads. It smoothly navigates steep inclines and even allows for hands-free cruising in stop-and-go traffic, with minimal input required other than occasional steering adjustments. A model without the turbocharged engine and revised CVT worked just as well, too.

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The prospect of implementing stricter speed limiters using technology that reads speed limit signs or relies on a database of speed limits is indeed becoming more feasible. However, several challenges need to be addressed for effective implementation, especially in areas like the back roads of West Virginia.

For roads without speed limit signs, the technology might default to a standard maximum speed, such as 55 MPH. This can be problematic on roads where such speeds are unsafe. A database of speed limits would need regular updates to remain accurate. Over-the-air (OTA) updates are a likely solution, similar to how map data is updated in modern GPS systems. This would require the vehicle to have a data connection, either through a cellular network or by syncing with a home network periodically. In regions with limited or no cellular connectivity, updating the database becomes challenging. One potential solution could be to store a larger section of the database in the vehicle's memory, covering a broader area than the immediate vicinity. However, this still leaves the issue of timely updates for sudden changes, like construction zones.

Implementing such technology would require a comprehensive legal framework that addresses liability issues, privacy concerns, and standards for technology performance. Widespread adoption of such technology would also depend on public acceptance, especially in regions where driving habits and conditions vary significantly from urban to rural areas.

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Last night, I watched a segment on NBC Nightly News that compared the traffic-related fatalities in Houston, USA, and Edmonton, Canada. Although Houston is larger, both cities are of comparable size. The report highlighted a stark contrast in traffic deaths due to high speeds: Houston recorded over 250 such deaths last year, whereas Edmonton had only 14. This significant difference is attributed to Edmonton's proactive measures in traffic management. Previously known for its less stringent traffic control, Edmonton has seen a dramatic reduction in accidents and fatalities owing to the implementation of automated traffic enforcement, steep traffic fines, and various traffic calming strategies, such as bump-outs, speed humps, and reduced speed limits.

[kphoger]

I think the key is the extent to which a driver will be able to disable the technology as needed to take full control and overcome problems with GPS accuracy (e.g., the system trying to force 30 MPH on a freeway because that is the speed limit on the adjacent frontage road).

Yes.

At my work, we used to have GPS tracking devices in the field techs' work trucks, and we got alerts whenever their speed pinged as over a certain threshold above the speed limit.  There were several times that someone got pinged for going about 35 mph over the speed limit because they were on an Interstate and it used the speed limit for the road that crossed over/under the highway at that point.

[Big John]

Bill introduced in California to mandate speed limiters by 2027: https://abc7.com/california-speed-limits-proposed-bill-governors/14358919/

[Max Rockatansky]

Bill introduced in California to mandate speed limiters by 2027: https://abc7.com/california-speed-limits-proposed-bill-governors/14358919/

By the same guy that wants to see the stub of the Central Freeway demolished.  There is a crap load of road GPS data in California that doesn't exist to fundamentally make SB 960 and SB 961 workable as he proposes. 

[Takumi]

This has been a thing in Japan for decades. All cars sold there have a limit of 180 km/h, and many of them have speedometers that stop there despite easily being able to surpass that if the limiters were bypassed.

[Max Rockatansky]

That's not what is being proposed.  This is some sort of GPS based tech that won't let cars go past 10 MPH over the limit for specific roads.  The dude pushing for this is hard core NUMTOT.

[kalvado]

This has been a thing in Japan for decades. All cars sold there have a limit of 180 km/h, and many of them have speedometers that stop there despite easily being able to surpass that if the limiters were bypassed.

180 km/h = a bit over 110MPH is probably higher than I ever saw on the public road in US. Maybe it will affect those makeshift racing events, but not those who drive to get from point A to point B.

[MikieTimT]

This has been a thing in Japan for decades. All cars sold there have a limit of 180 km/h, and many of them have speedometers that stop there despite easily being able to surpass that if the limiters were bypassed.

180 km/h = a bit over 110MPH is probably higher than I ever saw on the public road in US. Maybe it will affect those makeshift racing events, but not those who drive to get from point A to point B.

Back in the days when 55MPH was the law of the land, speedometers topped out at 85MPH, cars were built to a standard that means you don't see hardly any of that vintage on the road much anymore, and there was no joy in operating a motor vehicle other than to attain your destination.  I'll take the status quo of the last 25 years over almost any period of time previously and thank the government to kindly stay out of the passenger seat, thank you very much!  A government that has the power to give us risk free motoring has the power to control nearly every aspect of life.  And no government in the history of humanity ever accepted the power the populace willing gave it and didn't abuse it horrifically.

[Rothman]

Remember that a special speedometer was needed in Back to the Future because of the 85 mph standard...

[MikieTimT]

Remember that a special speedometer was needed in Back to the Future because of the 85 mph standard...

If the feds have their way, time travel will never be invented if we don't beat the mandate.  Guess I'd better figure out a way to drive 176 to get to the future twice as quickly and beat them to the punch.

[kalvado]

Remember that a special speedometer was needed in Back to the Future because of the 85 mph standard...

If the feds have their way, time travel will never be invented if we don't beat the mandate.  Guess I'd better figure out a way to drive 176 to get to the future twice as quickly and beat them to the punch.

Is there a sign in MUTCD fir maximum time travel speed? That many years per minute? Or would regular speed limit sign need to be adapted?

[algorerhythms]

Remember that a special speedometer was needed in Back to the Future because of the 85 mph standard...

If the feds have their way, time travel will never be invented if we don't beat the mandate.  Guess I'd better figure out a way to drive 176 to get to the future twice as quickly and beat them to the punch.

Is there a sign in MUTCD fir maximum time travel speed? That many years per minute? Or would regular speed limit sign need to be adapted?

Ahem.

[kphoger]

Is there a sign in MUTCD fir maximum time travel speed? That many years per minute? Or would regular speed limit sign need to be adapted?

Ahem.

Yes!

[Road Hog]

Until you get a cellular-assisted ticket in the mail, I'm not losing any sleep.