QOTD: How Do You Feel About Mandated In-Car Speed Warnings?
I said my piece about a proposed California law that, if passed, would lead to a mandate that cars sold in the state would have to come with speed-warning systems installed
I think it's a bad idea and I explained why. Now it's your turn.
Am I right? Or is it much ado about nothing? Maybe it's something you could live with easily?
Or maybe you think I am wrong about the impact it will have on road safety and you believe it will actually lead to safer roads?
I know some of you may have expressed your opinions already in the comments under the first post, but consider this another opportunity to pipe.
Keep it civil, keep it respectful, and sound off below.
[Image: Einar Magnus Magnusson/Shutterstock.com]
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Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.
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Comments
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I had an 80's Cougar that would allow you to set a warning if you exceded a set speed. I wouldn't mind having the option to have a more intelligent version of this so long as it is an optional deal that can be switched off.
We have a Jeep Patriot with the garbage Astrium Nav/CD/etc., setup. after a few months of silence a snide female teenage voice pops up with "You're driving over the speed limit." I had to find it and disable it before it made me angry. My commute is several miles of winding highway with several hills. There is no way to use cruise control or regulate your speed without setting it off, unless you drive considerably under the limit.
I'd actually welcome an on-dash warning when I am 15 km/h over. Where I live the city has gone nuts installing 30 km/h zones (18 mph!) all over the damn place, sometimes accompanied by speed cameras. One week there was construction on my normal route, and the detour took me through a 30 km/h zone. Two days in a row I drove through there at what seemed like a responsible speed (under 50) because I didn't notice the sign. A week later, and a week + 1 day later, I received speeding tickets in the mail, totalling over $400. Maybe I'm getting old, but I wouldn't mind my car letting me know when I am making a mistake like that.
Or that one!!