[Closed] EU Automated speed limits

Also, this proposal does include motorbikes doesn’t it?

Obvs the driver aids bit is a bit moot, but the speed restrictions must still be able to be applied Shirley??

I think heavy congestion is part of it. People tend to get irate when they think they COULD be going so much faster but something is stopping them. Friday afternoon M4 from Reading westwards is often solid cars in all three lanes, and you can see it stretching out ahead of you, so people tend to just chill cos they know they have no option. It ends up a steady 60mph all moving together. When it opens up, some people speed up to 70, some to 80 or 90 and it gets far worse.

Most or yours? For most young people it’s being used as a cheaper way in.

For young people to an extent it is, as soon as they hit 21 with 3yrs experience 'normal' insurance policies become cheaper, my son was £850 with black box and 6000 miles, insured for £450, no black box and 10k miles. It appears that black boxes are only beneficial from an insurance point of view in the first 3yrs. If having my driving monitored via a black box was beneficial from an insurance perspective then I would consider it otherwise I will continue to make progress as and when my perception of it being safe to do so and the urge takes me.

It was always going to happen eventually and even as someone who enjoys fast cars, I can't really see any downsides.

OK, that's not necessarily true, part of me has concerns about the whole semi-automation problem where people disengage their brains whilst driving. Will people just put their foot flat to the floor on every road and expect to be held at a safe speed?

That aside, it's a feature which will prevent people from breaking the law on a massive scale and subsequently save lives. I think black boxes are a great idea too. Driving poses an inherent risk not only to yourself but to everyone around you. And it's not a question of if these things will be implemented, it's a case of when. It's inevitable.

What if I'm overtaking some pillock who's been doing 40 in the 60 limit & they floor it while I'm along side , blocking me into oncoming traffic? It's a regular occurrence round here. ( Doing 40 in a 60 if the weather's good & there's nothing dangerous about doing the limit is illegal. It's driving without due care & attention. I asked a cop) But it's a good thing for classic sports car sales.🙄

I’d screw a 30mph sign to the back of the car. As soon as someone tried tailgating on the motorway they’d have their speed more than halved.....BINGO! Problem solved!
🤣

What if I’m overtaking some pillock who’s been doing 40 in the 60 limit & they floor it while I’m along side , blocking me into oncoming traffic?

It's probably safer and easier to brake and pull back in behind, in almost all situations, regardless of power?

They are including the option to temporarily override it so that's a moot point anyway.

“The Department for Transport said the system would also apply in the UK, despite Brexit”.

“The car will not brake automatically when the speed limit is reduced, but will give the driver a visual warning instead. It is the driver’s responsibility to obey the warning”.

Already fitted to modern vehicles. 4 years ago I had a van with this warning function. Nice little story to add fuel to EU hate for the Brexity types if you ask me.
‘Bloody EU Controlling my car’

Well post Brexit we'll be able to revitalise the British car building industry. British Leyland will rise phoenix like from the flames. And all the cars we produce won't work, or if working will be incapable of speeding 😆😆😆

Can we have a counter option that forces ditherers to drive at more than 30mph in a 60mph zone!

FWIW - this is a shit idea that will lead to gormless sanitized driving as people take less and less responsibilty behind the wheel.

I'd ban ruddy sat-nav too - force people to read maps and know where the **** they are going.

To be honest all touch screens should be banned too as they just aren't as simple as twiddling a knob or flicking a switch. They force you to take your eyes off the road.

Predictably, this is all over the front page of the Express today, "THE EU TELLING US WHAT TO DO AGAIN" or words to that effect. I read about this a little while ago and my first thought was that this would be the reaction, if nothing else it's really bad timing for us.

One thing that seems to be missed from a lot of the commentary is that the systems, if and when implemented, will have an "off" switch. So the road warriors (and red-tops) needn't get too worried.

Don’t the adaptive cruise control systems automatically slow you down if you get too close to the vehicle in front?

Yeah, mine does. You can set the distance too, so if it's braking too soon or not soon enough you can alter it (and the distance is proportional to speed).

Don’t the adaptive cruise control systems automatically slow you down if you get too close to the vehicle in front? I seem to remember it being mentioned in some thread or other. A similar system could sound an alarm if you started to tailgate in the same way that you get an alarm if you don’t fit the seat belt when sat in a front seat.

yep, had this on a 2012 Golf. Great piece of kit. Only issue was a bunch of morons jumping into the 'gap' left!

I’d screw a 30mph sign to the back of the car. As soon as someone tried tailgating on the motorway they’d have their speed more than halved…..BINGO! Problem solved!
🤣

This is pure genius. Well done that man!

I’d ban ruddy sat-nav too – force people to read maps and know where the **** they are going.

Do maps come with automatic traffic updates which can warn you of an accident ahead and re-route you out of the way?

To be honest all touch screens should be banned too as they just aren’t as simple as twiddling a knob or flicking a switch.

I kind of agree with this to a point. But you soon learn where controls are on a touch-screen, and in any case Android Auto's voice control (and the Apple equivalent) has rendered much of this obsolete. "OK Google, navigate home."

It's very slick these days, all the OEM in-car voice systems I've used have required you to memorise a series of set command words, Google works really well with natural language and is pretty good at deciphering non-perfect requests like if you use old names for places that have been renamed.

force people to read maps

That's a really really stupid idea.

What if I’m overtaking some pillock who’s been doing 40 in the 60 limit & they floor it while I’m along side , blocking me into oncoming traffic?

Don't overtake when there's oncoming traffic? Radical suggestion, I know.

I hope all the divers who feel they won't be able to concentrate with a speed limiter in place can go and tell their local police station that and give them your license for safe keeping 🙂

What if I’m overtaking some pillock who’s been doing 40 in the 60 limit & they floor it while I’m along side , blocking me into oncoming traffic?

You brake?

I see far less aggression on the roads than I did 5yrs ago

You should try driving in southampton - I've stopped commuting by bike because of driving standards falling so much

I think it is a good idea, but, I would rather they skip this stage and just go full speed for automated vehicles. Remove the human error. Would bring so many benefits, so many more than just restricting a speed.

Other thing I don't get, all this talk of cameras reading road signs. Seems a bit 'in the box' thinking. And likley bloody hard to implement to a sufficient standard. If speedlimits are automated there is no need for the outdated concept of a visible sign some form of gps located speed data would be enough....

IMO there has been a polarisation of driving standards with relation to cyclists. the considerate ones obey the 20 mph urban limits and give me more room. the occasional idiots have got worse. Had one today overtake thru a pinch point on a corner with a red traffic light 100m away as I was in primary potion. Utter plonker

see far less aggression on the roads than I did 5yrs ago

You should try driving in southampton

I live 20mins by car from you.

👍

All commercial vehicles first, including emergency service and government owned/funded including military. All commercial vehicles employed in the carry of passengers (taxis/minibuses etc.) All commercial vehicles carrying animals and goods.

All North Yorks County Council minibuses are limited to 60mph, have trackers & Vertus Fleet dashcams installed.

All uk buses since 1985 have speed limiters fitted, set to a max of 100kmh (but can be set lower)
Trucks likewise, but 90kmh.
Newer buses have adaptive cruise fitted too, absolutely fantastic tech, can’t wait til i have it on my car tbh.
I’d say adaptive cruise would be a fantastic safety aid, rather than blanket speed limiters.
And a device that stopped phones from working when the handbrake is off, as most of the poor driving i see is mobile phone related, rather than speed related.
In ontario, there is a ‘Driving Distracted’ law, we need this here imo.

In ontario, there is a ‘Driving Distracted’ law, we need this here imo.

We do, afaik, it's just hard to enforce without investment in police.

Yes we would call it careless driving, they say driving while distracted.
But, as you say, pointless without the police available to enforce it.

Drac. But the other people who've been stuck behind the pillock are in the space I was in. There's nowhere to go, other than Infront of the pillock. 🙄.

Can someone consider all the income loss from speeding fines please. 🤣

We have autonomous driving modes on one of our cars and the speed limit reading system does occasionally get it wrong and incorrectly apply the brakes or speeding up (using the adaptive cruise control). For part autonomous driving I think that the tech isn’t quite there yet. I suspect that this EU directive is just reading signposts and recording speed rather than more complex tech. I generally approve of this but I’d like to see tech work better before it’s utilised widely.

But the other people who’ve been stuck behind the pillock are in the space I was in. There’s nowhere to go, other than Infront of the pillock

Just stop, if you have to. You stop, they stop, everyone lives. You floor it to beat the other person flooring it towards oncoming traffic, one error of judgement and everyone dies.

Drac. But the other people who’ve been stuck behind the pillock are in the space I was in. There’s nowhere to go, other than Infront of the pillock. 🙄

Sorry I’m not in your story so didn’t know what had happened. Maybe don’t be a prick and overtake into on coming traffic.

There is a tracker fitted to my co car and an email from head office saying speeding is considered a disciplinary offence, a bit big brotherish but its an effective method of limiting the use of my right foot...

Its interesting that if its was implemented well (which I am sceptical about) its hard to argue against.

However I have to say that of all the problems that face the people of the EU and the UK for that matter. Is this really something that is worth spending the money, time and effort putting into place when there are other issues that would make life more most people a lot better.

I assume in the first instance it will be like ABS where its mandatory for all new cars to be fitted with it as apposed for to be mandatory for it to be switched on.

A feature I could switch on when I want that auto limits my speed to the limit would be great. I would probably pay for that option on the van. However I am not convinced making it mandatory is a so important it needs legislating for.

A feature I could switch on when I want that auto limits my speed to the limit would be great. I would probably pay for that option on the van. However I am not convinced making it mandatory is a so important it needs legislating for.

Given you think it's a good idea but want to turn it off so you can ignore limits probably reinforce why it should be legislated. If we only ever did stuff on the biggest issues of the day we would be stuck in committee ranking the issues.

There is a tracker fitted to my co car and an email from head office saying speeding is considered a disciplinary offence, a bit big brotherish but its an effective method of limiting the use of my right foot…

Yep few places see it as a wilful disregard for a safety instruction, sort of thing that would get you sacked in a factory.

Last hire car I had was fitted with a limit option and cruise, the cruise on the mway was used, elsewhere the limiter made more sense.

But the other people who’ve been stuck behind the pillock

You overtake into oncoming traffic and yet someone else is “the pollock”?

Something fishy about this.

A feature I could switch on when I want that auto limits my speed to the limit would be great.

You're in luck my friend

Something fishy about this.

Given you think it’s a good idea but want to turn it off so you can ignore limits probably reinforce why it should be legislated.

One does not actually necessarily follow the other does it? Because I think it would be a good tool in some circumstances does not mean it's worthwhile legislating for it does it.

I am not really into legislating for anything unless there is good evidence that it makes peoples lives better.

People seem to forget that UK's roads are amongst the safest in the world, its not exactly the wild west out there.

Though the STW anti car lobby are not letting facts get in the way of their dogma 😀

People seem to forget that UK’s roads are amongst the safest in the world, its not exactly the wild west out there.

A feature I could switch on when I want that auto limits my speed to the limit would be great.

There are features already built into cars, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal and a massive dial in the center console called a speedometer.

It does need a responsible human to operate it though.

HTHs.

There are features already built into cars, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal and a massive dial in the center console called a speedometer.

Cool so you agree that this legislation is not needed then and we can leave people to be responsible and put a little interest back into their driving and maintain the speed limit them self. Glad we are on the same page 🙂

Got to love Virtue Signal Track World 🙂

There are features already built into cars

The poster said 'auto' limits. None of those things do anything automatically.

Though the STW anti car lobby are not letting facts get in the way of their dogma

I'm sorry, but I've spent most of my adult life around cars, as an active member of clubs, attending meets, laid underneath losing the skin from my knuckles on cold winter mornings, and all the rest of it. Hardly the anti-car lobby. It is usually the case that those throwing empty insults and shouting about 'facts' actually have no facts at all. The EU are introducing this directive because the evidence available suggests that it will potentially save thousands of lives. That sounds good enough to me.

What actually are the downsides?

I'd hardly say I was the anti-car lobby - I've had a Mazda MX5, a Porsche and a couple of hot hatches and I have done a lot of the maintenance on them myself. But I cannot see how having automatic speed limiters is a bad thing. It'll save so many lives, including those of people who get crashed into who don't really care whether you're a petrolhead and want to get woken up by driving too fast on the public highway, they just wanted to get home safe without being killed.

munrobiker

I’d hardly say I was the anti-car lobby – I’ve had a Mazda MX5, a Porsche and a couple of hot hatches and I have done a lot of the maintenance on them myself. But I cannot see how having automatic speed limiters is a bad thing.

Well for one thing, because it further increases the perception that driving at the speed limit = automatically safe.

I'd rather have a buzzer that went off if you're closer than two seconds from the vehicle in front. And front and rear dashcams that can't be disabled.

Is it an either/or choice?