RE: Speed Limiters
Tuesday 8th October 2002
Speed Limiters
A poll by MORI on behalf of the Foundation for the Automobile and Society has shown that a majority of motorists would welcome in-car speed-warning devices. 73% of people who responded to the survey supported the idea of having compulsory in-car speed limiters for use in residential areas - on the condition that it would mean the removal of road humps and traffic calming measures.
Discussion
quote:
A poll by MORI on behalf of the Foundation for the Automobile and Society has shown that a majority of motorists would welcome in-car speed-warning devices. 73% of people who responded to the survey supported the idea of having compulsory in-car speed limiters for use in residential areas - on the condition that it would mean the removal of road humps and traffic calming measures.
This is called cruise control isn't it?
I have a similar device in both my cars - it's a dial indicator which shows current speed in real time. All I have to do is keep the needle indicating a speed below the posted limit by pressing or releasing the handy floor mounted levers.
If we ever have such as system it's going to end up being GPS controlled so you know what the limit is without being able to see a sign. There will be no more speeding. I am willing to bet my cars, bike and house that people still have accidents and I'm pretty sure driving standards will continue to fall.
Any form of speed limiter completely absolves the driver from any form of responsibility for speed control. They are not breaking the law and therefore they can drive around with foot the floor - take a look at the dodgems at the fair if you dont believe me - and just watch out slow OAP crossing the road, child dashing out from behind that car and stuff any cyclists, horses or similar that might be using our public highways.....
Cant wait, can you? What a wonderful world we live in...
Cheers,
Paul
Cant wait, can you? What a wonderful world we live in...
Cheers,
Paul
quote:
Don't Golfs and A3s have a little 'beep' noise you can program to go off as you reach a certain speed?
Set it for, say, 35mph round town & it removes the need to be constantly glancing at the speedo rather than waching road/mirrors...
Little use if 'Hearsay' are singing from your speakers at 210 DB
There is already such a device it was devoloped by leeds university here is the link [url] www.guardian.co.uk/car/story/0,7369,433791,00.html[/url]. All the best Derek.
One of my engine management gizmo wossnames in the Supra has an output you can use to trigger a warning lamp, buzzer, whatever, at a certain speed.
I wired it up to a relay that activates my suite of radar detector/gps/laser jammer when I'm travelling above 30mph (no false alarms when trundling through town cos everything is switched off!).
I wired it up to a relay that activates my suite of radar detector/gps/laser jammer when I'm travelling above 30mph (no false alarms when trundling through town cos everything is switched off!).
Hehe, nice system there - one thing... surely when the hallowed speed of 31mph is reached at night, all your lights turn out and the radio shuts off due to the immense power drain... kinda like the hit on the national grid when the corrie break comes around! :P
(only joking fella, sounds like a nifty bit of wiring!)
(only joking fella, sounds like a nifty bit of wiring!)
BTW Captain, it is not 'cruise control'. CC is exactly what it says and is a device that is set to cruise at a particular speed, only for use on motorways and the like. In my last R/Rover it could not be activated below about 40mph. Also I believe they can only be used on auto-boxes because the system may need to change gears if going uphill etc.
Cruise Control is fitted to many manual cars too, if the car needs to change gear it just cuts out. And yes, its nothing to do with speed limiting - in fact if its mis-used it can encourage you NOT to slow down when you really should.
The speed limiter on my E class need setting with the engine switched off. It would be maddening to set it at 30 then be stuck at that speed when you reach a 40mph limit. I haven't even tried to use it, but the same device on a previous C class wouldn't work below 100mph anyway.
The best feature on the E class is the big digital speedometer you can choose on the computer - it makes it REALLY obvious how fast you are going.
The speed limiter on my E class need setting with the engine switched off. It would be maddening to set it at 30 then be stuck at that speed when you reach a 40mph limit. I haven't even tried to use it, but the same device on a previous C class wouldn't work below 100mph anyway.
The best feature on the E class is the big digital speedometer you can choose on the computer - it makes it REALLY obvious how fast you are going.
So how do we get Leeds university funding withdrawn? Oh and who the **** did Mori ask? was this survey conducted in a shopping precinct on a Wednesday afternoon by any chance?
Q1 Do you think its awful how many children are killed on the roads?
Q2 Have you ever nearly been run over.
Q3 Do you like this shopping centre cos its pedestrian only
Q4 Would you mind being run over by a mad fool who was speeding?
Q5 In your opinion is it mosly young men who are mad and speed a lot?
And finally Do you think it would be a good idea to put speed limits on cars?
Cos cars are bad arn't they?
Q1 Do you think its awful how many children are killed on the roads?
Q2 Have you ever nearly been run over.
Q3 Do you like this shopping centre cos its pedestrian only
Q4 Would you mind being run over by a mad fool who was speeding?
Q5 In your opinion is it mosly young men who are mad and speed a lot?
And finally Do you think it would be a good idea to put speed limits on cars?
Cos cars are bad arn't they?
quote:
I have a speed limiter on my TVR already, don't they all. I find the power drops at about 6000 rpm in any gear and at about 158 mph.
We really will have to meet up for a bike & car thrash. The rev limit on mine is about 14K, but top speed sounds about the same. Be quite interesting to compare notes...
Err, back to speed limiters - very bad idea. What about emergencies?
What a load of cobblers! - speed limiters would presumably be set to the maximum permitted in any given area, so we would get in the habit of just letting the car dumbly do that speed. Sometimes the maximum is too much - come home at an unusual time for example, past the 'going home time mumsie' traffic by the school which is usually long since closed, unexpectedly find kiddies and that all over the place - much better to be aware of the limit, and a (?) not so dumb driver behaving accordingly. Think of the legislation " it wasnt me yr honour, my limiter was up the spout" A warning device - or better an informing device is potentially useful - not sure of limits myself in 'off my patch' areas - I think the sat-nav and 'safety camera locator' boys are there already with this stuff. Its just another step to Big Brother - Bl@@dy tree huggers.
How about you have electronically limited speeds automatically adjusting for road conditions and speed limits, combined with some kind of system to ensure cars stay exactly in lane and some kind of automatic switching to make sure you end up at the right destination.
Oh b
er - that would be a train 
Oh b
er - that would be a train There was a project at MIRA (www.mira.co.uk) called EVSC - External Vehicle Speed Control... and it was featured on Tomorrow's World and Driven.
Details below copied from the MIRA site...
Car actually drives better than you'd think and it brakes more smoothly than any person I've ever sat with.
There are also other projects of this type about - Sweden, Netherlands, Germany... US.
To prevent the vehicle from accelerating above the limit, the ignition timing is altered and two of the fuel injectors can be disengaged. If the vehicle is travelling into a lower speed limit or is descending a hill, the brakes will be applied.
Details below copied from the MIRA site...
quote:
Vehicles that are travelling at speeds greater than the legal limit are more likely to be involved in an accident than a vehicle adhering to the speed limit. If the vehicle is incapable of exceeding the speed limit, then the possibility and severity of an accident is greatly reduced. One method by which the speed of the vehicle can be controlled is by using External Vehicle Speed Control (EVSC). This system uses beacons to broadcast signals to the vehicle, informing the vehicle of the speed limit and an onboard system will then prohibit the vehicle from exceeding it.
EVSC is a joint project between MIRA and Leeds University, funded by the Department of Transport. The project reviewed different methods by which the vehicle could be informed of the speed limit and how the vehicle could be limited, as well as how drivers react to the system.
Different methods of informing the vehicle of the speed limit included beacons on lamp posts, bar codes on the road surface and GPS (Global Positioning Satellite). GPS was decided upon because of its versatility and availability. Virtual beacons are established using GPS co-ordinates. Each beacon has an assigned speed limit. The GPS monitors the position of the vehicle at all times, when it travels through the virtual beacon, the on board computer will limit the vehicles speed to that of the beacon.
Car actually drives better than you'd think and it brakes more smoothly than any person I've ever sat with.
There are also other projects of this type about - Sweden, Netherlands, Germany... US.
To prevent the vehicle from accelerating above the limit, the ignition timing is altered and two of the fuel injectors can be disengaged. If the vehicle is travelling into a lower speed limit or is descending a hill, the brakes will be applied.
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