In developed countries all over the world, driving continues to get safer. The one exception to that rule is the United States, where driving continues to get more dangerous. Unfortunately, there are so many factors that make drivers in the U.S. more dangerous, there’s no silver bullet that will magically fix things. One thing that would definitely help, though, would be if drivers would simply slow down, especially in cities. In an attempt to make that happen, Road & Track reports that California just passed a bill that will require cars to warn drivers whenever they drive more than 10 mph over the speed limit.
The California Senate just passed SB 961, which would require half of all new cars built or sold in the state to include passive speed limiters by 2029, and by 2032, that figure will rise to 100 percent. If it passes the Assembly and is signed into law, the new regulation will apply to all passenger vehicles, including trucks, as well as buses. And while there will be nothing physically stopping someone from driving more than 10 mph over the posted speed limit, adding beeps and flashing warnings will at least make doing so much more annoying.
According to the bill, the “passive intelligent speed assistance system” that would be required would be “[an] integrated vehicle system that uses, at minimum, the GPS location of the vehicle compared with a database of posted speed limits, to determine the speed limit, and utilizes a brief, one-time visual and audio signal to alert the driver each time they exceed the speed limit by more than 10 miles per hour.” It would also default to the higher speed limit if, for whatever reason, there are multiple speed limits in the area you’re driving.
This isn’t exactly a new idea, either. Starting in July, the European Union will also begin requiring similar passive speed limiters in new cars, and both the National Transportation Safety Board and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety also support implementing a similar regulation nationally. Assuming it passes, California would simply be the first state in the country to require it. And if it does pass, don’t be surprised if more states end up following California’s lead.
