If the EU-mandated “Intelligent Speed Assist” is mandated here – which it probably will be. The Safety Cult will demand it – it’s a “seatbelt moment,” they screech. And it may be a fait accompli – because something like a third of all major car companies are European-based (e.g.. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, VW, Porsche, Fiat, Alfa) and they will be fitting all their cars with “intelligent Speed Assist.” Including the ones they export here.
The only question will be whether the embedded tech will be activated.
How much do you want to be that it will be?
. . .
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Just got back from Greece – drove around a bit…. well quite a bit actually. Was driving in areas like Meteora or Mt Pillion which have crazy bendy roads going up and down mountains with endless short straights and then banked hairpins…. but because they are mostly empty… you can do what you want…. Once you get off the mountains – the wide motorways are completely deserted (apart from every 50 or so miles, the the 8 lane fully manned toll booths with EU flags reminding us who the boss is)….
Only when driving here I realised how bad these automated speed limits will be. European roads are brilliant to drive. Most of them are much older than American roads, they are narrow and bendy with amazing views. Then, the roads are marked extremely low – some places as low as 30km/ph in areas where there is absolutely nothing – god knows why (except perhaps some granny at some point had trouble keeping it on the road themselves and complained to a busybody who saw it in their wisdom to reduce the speed limit as low as possible).
Now as heartening as it was seeing how little of a fuck the Greeks gave about their imposed speed limits – I do worry that some of the worlds best driving roads will be rendered absolutely useless. And along with that – the chance for much of Europe to actually recover economically on its own by attracting foreign tourist to spend in local economies. I think over the next 3 years – my goal is to drive as much of Europe as I can before this comes in and ruins it all….
24/7 100% speed enforcement will cripple the road systems.
Of course the answer won’t be to realize the error but demand more government and more top down control.
Narrow and bendy with amazing views… guess who else this attracts… have fun looking for the one curvy road in the entire world that neither the recreational non-drivers nor the real estate developers have found yet… I’m sure they’re both actively looking for it too…
As soon as you see lots of nice shiny new speed limit signs, all precisely placed at the same height, you will know your safety conscious control freak government fuckwhistles are ready to implement this.
They have been going up all over the UK over the last few years. So our only solution is to start going on ninja night missions to turn the signs enough that the cameras cannot read them 😉
You could also put some libertarian or anti-gov’t bumper stickers on the signs, so as to obscure them… 🙂
Yeh, perhaps Eric’s very own stickers will do 😉
I just read an article in the WSJ which mentioned that a man in Switzerland was recently given a FOUR YEAR sentence in prison for speeding. How fast was he going? 210. But not 210 mph. Kph. That’s about 130 mph. I have driven that fast myself! Four years in prison! Unbelievable.
In Illinois the law was changed to make the interstate speed limit 70mph. Part of this was to make 26mph over the speed carry up to 6 months in jail. Guess what they did? Left the speed limit at 55mph. In the 55mph sections of various chicago area interstates the 85th percentile speed based on my estimate is around 78mph. 81mph is of course up to 6months in jail. So now I often find myself between a rock and a hard place where I’ve got people coming up on me at 85+ mph while I stay below the threshold where my life can be ruined. Have I heard of anyone going to jail for 81mph or more? No. But just because I don’t know about it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. The only person I know who got such a ticket is a woman and never heard of the resolution of it, but she didn’t get jail. But I’m not a woman so I can’t count on the book not be thrown at me.
No pussy pass for you, Mister!
Hi Brent,
We have a similar law in VA. It is the “reckless driving” statute, which defines exceeding any posted speed limit by more than 20 MPH and driving faster than 80 MPH, regardless of the speed limit. This includes highways with a 70 MPH speed limit, such as I-81, near me. Thus, 11 MPH over the limit – which would driving just slightly faster than the 75 or so almost everyone is driving – can result in a roadside arrest (at the AGW’s discretion) and the certainty of a court appearance to face a serious charge that carries with it the possibility of jail time, as well as the certainty, upon conviction, of six DMV “demerit” points, likely suspension of your driving “privileges” and the certainty of your insurance either being cancelled or the premiums doubled, which will be the case for years. A “reckless” conviction can easily cost the victim many thousands of dollars and be a life-ruiner if your job requires a “clean” driving record.
I always see the signs that say speed limit enforced with a picture of a drone or airplane on 90 east bound headed into Illinois. Haven’t seen a drone or plane yet.
Not legal in Texas. Got that ruling in the middle 70’s. If the guy in the plane or helicopter wants to land and ticket the individual driving, he can do so, otherwise it’s hearsay evidence.
The ISP had to sell their plane years ago as I understand it. The ISP is actually becoming impaired in its revenuing on the ground as well because of the state being broke.
Consider that a convicted murderer does 7 years on average.
This is like minimum wage laws. Why is $15 the goal when $100 an hour is better. Come one Bernie Sanders go big or go home. If you really want to save lives rig all cars to a maximum of 30mph for future and past model, require helmets for pedestrians and drivers, 4 point harnesses, fire suppression systems etc. The tech is out there we should mandate it. Do you really want to save lives then it’s worth it. Intervene into our lives because it “could” save one life. Come on uncle go big or gtfo!
The control is getting to be too much. My programming is cracking. I think im gonna drive triple digits just to be free even for a little bit.
What Joan Claybrook always wanted.
Too late. Hyundai already has it
http://www.mobistc-na.com/rd/mechatronics/das
I know of two areas in my commute where a Lane Keep Assist camera would fail to detect the blurred and missing lines in the road and careen the car and driver to certain death. Sue the state for not maintaining road lines?
I took a gander at that site, and read about how the sign sensors will work. It says that they sensors or cameras will see the speed limit signs, and then relay the info to the driver. Uh, why can’t I do that MYSELF, as I always have? Why do I need some gizmo telling me this?
I really can’t see myself ever buying a new car ever again. So until they mandate refitting older cars (good luck with my pre-computer vehicles), I’ll be ok.
What’s that quote? Something about freedom being a loophole, and you can be sure they are working diligently to close it.
It seems to me it’s a herd problem, though. Because most roads are so crowded these days, you’re going to be as restricted to the low speeds and grandma-driving as anyone else. It’ll simply be due to the metal and plastic mobile blockades of the other cars. Whether we have the tech in our vehicles or not, we’re still going to be regulated by it.