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Volvo To Impose 112mph Speed Limit On All New Cars From 2020 (theguardian.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the safety-first dept.

Volvo will limit the top speed to 112mph on all its new cars from 2020 in an attempt to reduce the number of accidents. "The cap will prevent drivers from accelerating to the top speeds of up to 155mph many Volvos can reach," reports The Guardian. From the report: Volvo is believed to be the first carmaker to install the cap across its entire range. Police vehicles will be exempt. Similar technology has been installed on several high-performance cars in Germany, but at a much higher speed limit. The general speed limit for motorways in EU member states is 75-80mph (120-130km/h). Germany does not have a general cap for motorways but recommends a speed of up to 80mph. Speeding remained one of the main contributors to road deaths, Volvo said, along with drug and drink intoxication and mobile phone use. Volvo is also exploring how geofencing -- a virtual geographic boundary defined by GPS technology -- can be used to automatically limit speeds around schools and hospitals. Hakan Samuelsson, Volvo's president and chief executive, said: "While a speed limitation is not a cure-all, it's worth doing if we can even save one life. We want to start a conversation about whether carmakers have the right or maybe even an obligation to install technology in cars that changes their driver's behavior."

4 of 534 comments (clear)

  1. 112 speedo limit is fine.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Volvo is also exploring how geofencing -- a virtual geographic boundary defined by GPS technology -- can be used to automatically limit speeds around schools and hospitals." - This part, this is a very very very bad idea.

    1. Re:112 speedo limit is fine.... by rmdingler · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The threat to your poor sickly mother has to at least be weighed against the threat to other drivers, including someone else's perfectly healthy mother headed down the autobahn to market.

      That, and if your auto hits a fat rabbit at 112 mph, you and mother are going to arrive at the hospital in another vehicle... one with lights and a siren.

      --
      Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

      Ernest Hemingway

    2. Re:112 speedo limit is fine.... by rogoshen1 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What if at some point in time, the powers that be deem 80 MPH as being too fast?

      What if your insurance company gets wind of this, and offers a better rate if you opt in to some kind of governor? (and eventually makes it cost prohibitive to not opt in?)

      Part of living in a free god damn society is having the freedom to do questionable, potentially stupid things. The individual learns from their mistakes, and is better for it. The problem with "but your rights end at wherever" argument is that it's an ever shifting, subjective line. And probably tends to get more and more narrow over time.

      I'd rather live with some amount of risk than limiting everyone to the equivalent of safety scissors and butter knives.

  2. Why would I buy this? by zippo01 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Why would I buy something that comes with arbitrary limits? Maybe if I was a rental car company, business or government, but as an individual this would be a massive turn off. If I want to kill myself at 113 MPH, volvo shouldn't stop me.