California could soon join the European Union in requiring all new cars to alert drivers when they break the speed limit, a proposal aimed at reducing traffic deaths that would likely impact drivers across the country should it become law.
The federal government sets safety standards for vehicles nationwide, which is why most cars now beep at drivers if their seat belt isn't fastened. A bill in the California Legislature — which passed its first vote in the state Senate on Tuesday — would go further by requiring all new cars sold in the state by 2032 to beep at drivers when they exceed the speed limit by at least 10 mph.
Why are cars designed to go way over the speed limit?
Unless you’re a professional racer or a cop, most drivers have no reason to push their vehicle’s engine to the max.
So why are cars built to go well over the legal speed limit? For a few reasons.
Why are humans desiged to climb Mount Everest?
ReplyDeleteMy GPS used to give me a warning when going over the posted speed limit as well as the speed shown on the screen would change color.
ReplyDeleteI've got a Garmin GPS that chimes when I'm approaching a reduced speed area. It only chimes once so it's easy enough to ignore.
DeleteI had a Tom Tom GPS that would warn you if you exceeded the speed limit. It allowed me to choose the alarm sound, so I chose the Cow. Sometimes it sounded like I was driving through a herd of cows. Moo!
DeleteI had an 84 Toyota truck with a diesel. It came with a cover for the bed. Top speed with the AC on was 65mph. With the AC off it was 67 mph. With the cover off the bed the top speed with the AC on was 75. I could drop the tailgate and with the AC off get up to 79 mph. It got 33 mpg no matter how it was driven. A quarter mile got me up to 55 mph and it took 31 seconds.
ReplyDeleteGood article,I can rant here. After years of being happy with a 96 and 2002 model cars, I bought a 2022 Pathfinder. I'm still discovering all the spyware on that car and I can't say I'm happy with any of it. Some of the "features"
ReplyDelete1. Yes, it rings a tone if I go over the speed limit, Somehow it knows what the limit is on the road I'm on. It flashes a little speed limit sign on the cluster too.
2. If I change a lane without using the blinker, the steering wheel vibrates. It took me a month to figure out the vibrating steering wheel was OK and the car wasn't fucking up. I still don't use the blinker, and it causes my wife to criticize my driving style when she hears it now.
3. If I just get too close to the lane divider line, the steering wheel vibrates too, but at a lower frequency, like its saying "you're getting too close fella". Again, the wife reacts too becuase she can hear it.
3. There are lights in the side mirrors that flash when there's a car next to you. All the time, I see these flashing lights in my peripheral vision and it wears me out turning my head to see what is going on. Oh yeah, its another car passing or being passed so blink the light and make the driver turn his head.
4. Parking is an ordeal. There is an outline of the car on the instrument cluster. When you pull into a spot, you get warnings as you get close to the car on either side or the curb/wall in front. They start out green, then go yellow, then flashing red with a ringing tone if you get too close. The wife insists I park so they show green on her side, so she has room to get out. Flashing red and ringing tone on my side is OK, though.
5. The dealer "set it up" for me. Big mistake. This CAR knows my router name. It knows my phone. It knows I have another, old phone in my garage. It tells me when I leave the coverage area of my router! And it asks to connect to my phones, by name when I start up. To be fair to Nissan, everytime I start the car, it warns me they upload driving data to someplace. Holy crap.
Oh yeah, I hadn't driven the car for a while (too fucking annoying) so when we went out yesterday, I get an error message "Vehicle not operated for extended period". Followed by two yellow warning lights and a red triangle. It wanted me to verify the braking system. WTF. A CAR remembers when its been driven??
Before I forget, higher trim levels on this car had even more electronic "driver aids". So It could be even worse. Think twice or three times before you buy that new car.
I've put 2200 miles on a 2022 model car. Biggest mistake ever made.
Prices of 1965 Mustangs will be going through the roof!
DeleteOur work trucks chime if your more than 5% over or 10% under posted limit. Except for a few problems.
ReplyDelete1) slowing down for emergency vehicle's gets it chiming.
2) construction zones not in its gps database
3) it chines as soon as you hit the reduce speed sign
Everyone hates them
Exile1981
My I phone’s not connected to 2023 Camry….
ReplyDeleteCruise control defaults to radar assist….
I disable to constant speed cruise control….
I disable lane assist….
I had free iphone tire press page….
until my “trial” connectivity ran out….
I’d prefer no vehicle/computer connectivity….
I use Waze for gps and traffic….
I know I’m still connected/trackable by iphone….
that’s where my faraday bag comes in.
Ed357
"Unless you’re a professional racer or a cop, most drivers have no reason to push their vehicle’s engine to the max."
ReplyDeletelol, what nanny BS from a CA leftist propaganda group. The fact that I want to drive fast is reason enough. Every car I've owned has been driven > 100 mph, western interstate speed limits are near that anyway. I don't care that Big Sister disapproves, in fact that makes it more rewarding. Find some open road and have fun.
Also, let’s say a family member has a heart attack, and you live in a remote area with no first responders nearby. You might find it necessary to speed to get to the nearest hospital. This is also true if a woman goes into labor.
ReplyDeleteOR there’s a sale at Penney’s.
FUN FACT: my early adult driving years were spent in Italy, driving the autostrada; I drove over 100 MPH on a regular basis.
Bobo the Hobo
Had a job in college with Hertz transporting cars from the hinterland back to the city.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know the area so I just figured I'd follow the other drivers back...
... the other drivers were all stock car racers itching to get their hands on some heavy metal.
I don't know how fast I was driving, after a certain point I didn't dare take my eyes off the road.
One little freaking wire goes to the horn..............Fuck you, CA.
ReplyDeleteI predict a portion of the population will quickly learn to ignore the beep.
ReplyDeletethe more I read articles like this the more I appreciate my older cars. Never bought a new car in my life, and certainly no reason to now.
ReplyDeleteIn 1996 (when I was 22 and making good money and too stupid to know any better) I bought a 97 Chrysler Concorde with the 3.5L engine. Decent car with a great engine that never seemed to burn a drop of oil, and I treated it horribly.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, there was a governor on that car that cut the fuel output to idle speeds when it hit 180 kph (about 112 mph.) The engine was at all of 3,300 rpm at that speed, and I've always wondered how fast that engine would have been able to push the car without that limitation.
Looking back, I'm grateful that governor was there because about two minutes after I backed off my speed I passed the RCMP going the other way, and every once in a while I hear a story about someone winding up in jail just for driving the speed I was going that day, and I would have been still conducting my speed test without it.
My 2013 Silverado is governed at 100MPH.
ReplyDeleteI haven't needed to know how fast the F-250 will
top out at.
You've exceeded your government allotment of calories for the day.
ReplyDeleteWe're sorry, you cannot eat again until tomorrow.