Speed limited cars!

[Isabo]

What kind of idiot comes up with these ideas
What kind of idiot installs it of their own free will

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7803997.stm

[stomachmonkey]

My mother has an associate whose son was killed by a drunk driver. He has invented a device that detects alcohol levels in you skin. The detectors he came up with are part of the steering wheel.

He is lobbying auto makers/government to install them as standard equipment that can not be disabled.

If these types of initiatives actually take root I guess I'll be driving old cars for the rest of my life.

[legion]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

My mother has an associate whose son was killed by a drunk driver. He has invented a device that detects alcohol levels in you skin. The detectors he came up with are part of the steering wheel.

He is lobbying auto makers/government to install them as standard equipment that can not be disabled.

If these types of initiatives actually take root I guess I'll be driving old cars for the rest of my life.

Or wear gloves.

I could see this type of speed limiting devices actually impeding traffic flow. They make quickly passing impossible. Imagine if you are travelling along on a 65 mph road. Your speed-limiting device is dead accurate, but you pull up on a car whose speed-limiting device limits that cars travel to 64 mph. As you slowly pass, a truck with larger-than-stock diameter tires is able to acheive 70 mph...

[TerryH]

My 2001 Ford Ranger has top speed of 93 mph even though there's a lot of pedal and horsepower left.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

If these types of initiatives actually take root I guess I'll be driving old cars for the rest of my life.

With you 100%.

Unfortunately though I think they're seriously going to look to ban/illegalize older cars soon. They already try like hell to make me get rid of mine every year between the fees, surcharges, "buyout offers", etc. to which I extend a middle finger.

I do think that the "Motor Law" is only a few years away though if government continues on the track it's on. Rush got it right.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by legion

Or wear gloves.

I could see this type of speed limiting devices actually impeding traffic flow. They make quickly passing impossible. Imagine if you are travelling along on a 65 mph road. Your speed-limiting device is dead accurate, but you pull up on a car whose speed-limiting device limits that cars travel to 64 mph. As you slowly pass, a truck with larger-than-stock diameter tires is able to acheive 70 mph...

First thing I said to mom. Apparently you need to remove them to get the car started.

For the speed limiting it's not limiting the potential top end of any vehicle, it's limiting the speed it can go based on the road it's on and the speed limit for that road.

So your scenario is actually worse.

You pull up on an asshat doing 50 on a one lane 55 and try to pass. He is a dick and speeds up to prevent you from passing. Which never happens. Now you both hit the limit and the system applies the brakes. Easier to get stuck in an oncoming lane because your options are limited to only slowing down.

[Gogar]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

First thing I said to mom. Apparently you need to remove them to get the car started.

I had a friend here in CO who got a DUI; in order to keep his driving privileges the state installed the little "breathalyzer" system in his car. You have to blow into the straw to start the car, and then blow every time it beeps at you, every 20 minutes or so. It starts beeping, you stop the car, blow into the tube, and continue on your way.


I can't imagine the steering wheel-alcohol thing ever becoming a reality, unless they ban alcohol-based hand lotion, cologne, perfume, etc. And gloves.

[legion]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

First thing I said to mom. Apparently you need to remove them to get the car started.

People in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Maine, etc. will LOVE this.

[legion]

Originally Posted by Gogar

I had a friend here in CO who got a DUI; in order to keep his driving privileges the state installed the little "breathalyzer" system in his car. You have to blow into the straw to start the car, and then blow every time it beeps at you, every 20 minutes or so. It starts beeping, you stop the car, blow into the tube, and continue on your way.


I can't imagine the steering wheel-alcohol thing ever becoming a reality, unless they ban alcohol-based hand lotion, cologne, perfume, etc.

A new law in Illinois goes into effect on January 1st that anyone who gets a DUI must get one of these installed on their car. Seems like gross overkill to me.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

For people that get a DUI, I'm actually okay with it.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by legion

People in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Maine, etc. will LOVE this.

Interesting thing is in the debate with mom over this I asked her if she speeds, (knowing the answer already, mom has a lead foot, just had a hip done and is pissed she can't use her daily driver Yellow Spyder Cab), so I asked her how she'd feel if someone came up with a device to control her speed against her wishes? She tried to deflect but was not successful.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by legion

A new law in Illinois goes into effect on January 1st that anyone who gets a DUI must get one of these installed on their car. Seems like gross overkill to me.

Actually it's not. DUI's are among the worst repeat offenders.

In NY they started confiscating cars from DUI suspects.

The hard core drinkers all ran out and bought cheap "drinking cars", couple hundred bucks and they did not care if it got impounded. They'd just go get another.

My former sis-in-laws father had one even before then.

Cheap POS that was dented on every square inch. It was his bar car.

[legion]

Come guys.

You may not care about DUI first-time offenders getting mandatory breath-machines installed in their cars.

But you will be upset when this is cited in getting speed-limiters installed in first-time speeder's cars.

We are far into the realm of diminishing returns with this one--where the cost to reduce a statistic by 1% costs 10 times what it cost to make a much bigger gain with more common-sense legislation.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by legion

Come guys.

You may not care about DUI first-time offenders getting mandatory breath-machines installed in their cars.

But you will be upset when this is cited in getting speed-limiters installed in first-time speeder's cars.

We are far into the realm of diminishing returns with this one--where the cost to reduce a statistic by 1% costs 10 times what it cost to make a much bigger gain with more common-sense legislation.

For a first time offender it may be a bit much.

But drunk drivers are different than speeders.

People do not speed the entire time they are on the road.

A drunk driver is drunk the entire time.

The risk of their behavior to the general population is much greater.

[TheMentat]

Originally Posted by Isabo

What kind of idiot installs it of their own free will

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7803997.stm

I'll tell you who: people who want to get the soon-to-be-introduced discount on their insurance...

[pwd72s]

I'm learning to love big brother...might as well, because he's soon to get much bigger.

[9dreizig]

Originally Posted by TheMentat

I'll tell you who: people who want to get the soon-to-be-introduced discount on their insurance...

In other words not getting the penalty tax that will be instituted on all of us who don't get it!!! ***** lobbyists in the insurace industry should be the first ones taken out and executed....Goes back to Geico buying lazer speed guns for cops so they could ultimately raise rates..

[trekkor]

I'd prefer that people didn't drive past my house at 130mph... Daily.



KT

[id10t]

Re: the speed. This is where driving a 356 comes in. More fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow

As to the DUI, lets just take all the laws off the books, but change it to any accident caused injuries while DUI is an automatic attempted murder charge, and any accident that causes a death is a pre-meditated murder...

[Aerkuld]

Surely they would never allow speeders to have speed limiting devices fitted, wouldn't it cut off the revenue stream?