Slashdot Mirror
EU Proposes To Fit Cars With Speed Limiters
schwit1 points out a new EU road safety measure to fit cars with devices that would stop them going over 70mph. "Under the proposals new cars would be fitted with cameras that could read road speed limit signs and automatically apply the brakes when this is exceeded. Patrick McLoughlin, the Transport Secretary, is said to be opposed to the plans, which could also mean existing cars are sent to garages to be fitted with the speed limiters, preventing them from going over 70mph. The new measures have been announced by the European Commission's Mobility and Transport Department as a measure to reduce the 30,000 people who die on the roads in Europe every year. A Government source told the Mail on Sunday Mr McLoughlin had instructed officials to block the move because they 'violated' motorists' freedom. They said: 'This has Big Brother written all over it and is exactly the sort of thing that gets people's backs up about Brussels.'"
In France, a lot of highways have a speed limit of 130 (in modern units) and 110 when it is raining
110 max in the rain strikes me as unfairly conservative; my '91 200Q with Falken FK452's (225/40R18) had no problem doing 130+ in heavy rain with no hydroplaning issues whatsoever... wait, were you talking KPH?!
When I was in Holland last year, we had a car with a GPS and speed limit display. Only problem was, if you were on a main highway and passed over a local road, the speed limit would often switch to something like 50km/h as it briefly became confused about which road you were on.
Needless to say, having every car hitting the brakes at that point would probably be a bad idea.
But the speed limit signs really make no more sense, since they can trivially be 'hacked'; I've seen local kids in Britain turn speed limit signs around for grins, so you'd end up with a sixty mph limit in the town and a thirty on the road leading out of town.
All in all, it's a really stupid idea. Which is what you'd expect from the EU.
Look on the bright side, with a bit of luck this will finally give Jeremy Clarkson a heart attack.
So, download a new driver.
Have gnu, will travel.
"Modern units"
110 m/s sounds pretty unsafe in heavy rain, even with no risk of hydroplaning or loss of grip.
I am not a crackpot.
Wouldn't a better idea be to change the speedometer so it only shows 50km/hr in a 50km/hr zone and 100km/hr in a 100km/hr zone?
Love, TEPCO.
I reserve the write to mangle english.