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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."

15 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 vlad30 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Actually I'd like a mode where it essentially limited to the speed limit unless I chose to exceed it for lets say overtaking. I have this almost in my current car instead of cruise control a speed limit is set. It only needs to follow the GPS defined speed limits to be more useful.

      --
      Your'e all thinking it, I just said it for you
    2. 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

    3. 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.

    4. Re:112 speedo limit is fine.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Honestly, it's hard to argue against it when it's 32 mph faster than the highest posted limit in the countries the car is sold in.

      You can argue that you should be free to do what you want, but the fact is you already very much breaking the law at the limit. It's honestly a bit surprising they didn't govern it to 90 mphs (highest posted limit/suggestion + roughly 10%). Ironically, it's probably actually law enforcement that would be most against that...they tend to profit on speeding fines and honestly if we tech ourselves out of speeding they end up out of work. So it's no surprise it's limited high enough to max out tickets, but low enough they can easily catch you.

    5. Re: 112 speedo limit is fine.... by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 4, Funny

      I want my car's speed to be governed just like I had it on the NES Rad Racer... 0 or 255mph with no acceleration time.

      I feel bad for the person that will be cleaning you out of the passenger compartment,

    6. Re:112 speedo limit is fine.... by apoc.famine · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I thought that way as well, but a recent study in the US found that gunshot victims brought to the nearest hospital by private car tended to survive better than those that waited for an ambulance. There are a few types of critical injuries where faster surgery really does outweigh the damage done by a violent, fast car ride to the hospital. Apparently leaking from large holes in you is one of those.

      --
      Velociraptor = Distiraptor / Timeraptor
  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.

    1. Re:Why would I buy this? by HornWumpus · · Score: 4, Informative

      Almost all cars are currently limited to 155. By a gentleman's agreement between the manufacturers and insurance companies.

      That makes some sense. Aero becomes critical at about 150. Those that care, can easily NOP that part of the ECU, when they hopefully install the airdam and spoiler.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    2. Re:Why would I buy this? by ljw1004 · · Score: 4, 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.

      Why should Volvo want you as a customer? If you buy your next car from a different manufacturer, then Volvo's safety stats will look even better than their competition, and they'll generate more sales from people who care about safety. (which is already their primary audience, I believe).

      Imagine I'm buying a car and I have a family. "Hmmm... Volvo cars have injury rate of X per 100k miles, and Ford cars have a higher injury rate of Y per 100k miles, so I know which one I'll buy." That will be a higher priority for me than the ability to go above 112mph.

  3. This is for tire ratings ... by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Volvo can put cheaper tires on their cars from the factory to avoid liability. 112 mph = 180km/h. I suspect this will be quietly removable with the proper scan software, same as many GM cars are.

  4. German here. Dear Americans ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    ... please do not think German drivers only need to fulfil the same requirements, that people in the US need to before they are allowed on to drive on the roads.

    In Germany we have extensive schooling, many hours of practical training, and strict driving test that you are expected to fail at the slightest misstep. And it's *expensive*. You usually pay a couple of *thousand* bucks for the whole thing.
    On the streets, every driver *expects* you to drive properly. With far more rules. (Like not overtaking on the right lane.)

    And you see this. Everything flows far more elegantly. People are skilled and proud of it.

    Of course since alcohol is our national dish, you will still have morons driving drunk and messing up on weekend nights and the like. But they only need to be caught once, and their license is *gone*. (They have to take the "idiot test" to get it back. Which is not much better than starting from scratch, afaik.)

    That is why we don't have speed limits for about 50% of the highway (= Autobahn). We can handle it!

    (I recommend taking the additional lessons for avoiding crashes. You get to learn ice drifting and other cool maneuvers like a pro. Just in case.)

    I wish the US also had a culture of not expecting everyone to be a moron until they are. It feels lime that attitude is the main breeding ground for morons in the first place.

  5. Saving lives? by bmomjian · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Maybe they can save lives by not selling cars at all. Have they tried that? Using their logic, seems it would be worth it.

  6. Have you ever driven a car at 155mph? by Nocturrne · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Seriously, how many people have even driven a car over 112mph, and if so, why? Unless you live in a very remote place with very low population, the chance of traffic being light enough to even exceed the normal speed limit is pretty low.

  7. Re:Just one life by sandmaninator · · Score: 5, Funny

    The Volvo will have rear-facing cameras for pyroclastic flow detection and in the event one is seen approaching the vehicle, the speed limiter is lifted.