Chat & Social > The Bar - General Chat
Speed Limiting Cars
S188:
My Mum has a peugeot 207 which has a speed limiter function, I think its quite a good idea as a tool to use when driving, but don't think it'd work so well as a mandatory thing you couldn't set yourself. It works as follows...
You select a speed on the trip computer using set +/- buttions just like a cruse control, but rather than it holding that speed automaticly it becomes you max limit so your still 'driving' the car. Lift, it slows down. Use too higher gear it'll still be grumpy like any car but it won't alow you to exceed the limit using engine power. As its a manual car its in the gear you put it in so engine brakes as normal. IF YOU FLOOR IT IT'LL OVERRIDE THE LIMITER! Therefore its perfectly safe for overtaking and it resumes when your back below the limit (the speed flashes if your exceeding the limit.
I think that setup can work well as a volentry system and maybe car makers should be encoraged to fit it, but governing it to the limit seems a step a bit far. Maybe if it was governed but alowed you a breaf bit of unlimited overspeed for overtaking that'd work but I don't think it'd be possable to do that safely as there would be a limit where it'd cut in mid manoeuvre. Thats something you need a driver to judge. When everything is limited to almost the same speed you get the problems with overtaking lorrys on the motorway, thats actully easy to rectify as if the lorry being overtaken bothered to lift his foot or turn off the cruse control for a breaf moment the overtaking lorry would be passed pritty quick and neather loose any time, though many seem not to bother doing this, and I bet if it was fitted to cars even fewer car drivers would do it. The truckers that do lift never really hold you up so you don't notice how often its actully done).
For emissions resions I can see the point in bringing in a max vehicle speed (like the +3.5t limit of 90km/h) around 140-150km/h (guess that'd have to be 130km/h as everyone would just run lead foot on the motorway makeing that the normal speed, and thats the highest limit within the EU bar the few remaining unlimited autobarns, which probuly have their days numbered anyway again for emissions resions). Truth is no one really needs to go faster on the roads (sure you could turn it off for blue light vehicles, which are usally a bit bespoke anyway) and those who do are waisting significant quantitys of fuel, often for little gain [ and only to them, sometimes at the expence of others]. I'm sure the EU will do something like that one day anyway, they are already having a go at cars with high rolling resistance tyres (ie grippy ones) and sadly that could effect performance cars. For track/off road use a max speed limiter could easilly have a system like the Nissan GTR where its unlimited in an apropreate place - all that technology is avalable to modern vehicles right now. Rules like this are rarely applied retrospectively and I don't think should be as its much less feasable. If your car doesn't have an ECU controled engine its more tricky to fit such a limiter, and retrofitting such a feature to many ECUs that don't surport it would also be tricky. Adding to new cars wouldn't cost a penny though, modern cars with satnav already have the required sensors and actuators! Most people would still buy new cars rather than drive older unlimited ones, it would just become another classic feature like not having a CAT.
The current defender already has such a limiter but who compains or has noticed it? Someone who likes doing 90MPH on the motorway with mud terains? I'd rather they wern't flying past me anyway. I think its quite a sensible limit for the defender given its vehicle dynamics - they aren't built for high speed handleing, thats why they are still good in other areas - seems LR agrees too.
Maybe an overall max limit doesn't bother me though as all my vehicles don't really do over 60MPH comfortably anyway, though that doesn't really bother me.
Rich_P:
Increased erosion of freedom is what bothers me.
V8MoneyPit:
--- Quote from: Chris Putt on January 09, 2009, 16:41:31 ---If I hear the arguement that a blade or a spike in the middle of the steering wheel is the best deterrant again I am actually going to scream. Like corporal punishment do you? The idea is ridiculous.
--- End quote ---
If you read the post properly, you will realise it was not a suggestion, but an example. Nobody, as you rightly say, would seriously suggest we actually have blades pointing at drivers. The point (if you excuse the pun!) is that if people felt more vulnerable, they would change the way they drive.
Crashes are not innevitable. With correct driving by everyone on the road they are avoidable.
Lord Shagg-Pyle:
How about this for a radical new idea?
What you have is a load of people in uniform, in big marked up cars, driving the roads who are allowed by law to stop people who are driving badly, speeding, using mobile phones, driving shed vehicles or stolen vehicles, who are allowed to use discretion and would therefore act as a deterrent?
We could call them 'Traffic Police' :-k
Hang on though, that sounds like it might not make the Government much money. Best scrap that idea. :roll:
mike142sl:
--- Quote from: Lord Shagg-Pyle on January 17, 2009, 11:37:37 ---How about this for a radical new idea?
What you have is a load of people in uniform, in big marked up cars, driving the roads who are allowed by law to stop people who are driving badly, speeding, using mobile phones, driving shed vehicles or stolen vehicles, who are allowed to use discretion and would therefore act as a deterrent?
We could call them 'Traffic Police' :-k
--- End quote ---
It'll never catch on
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