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posted by martyb on Tuesday October 04 2016, @07:11AM   Printer-friendly
from the what-could-possibly-go-wrong? dept.

International road safety experts are calling for all vehicles to be fitted with speed warning devices, and drivers who exceed the speed limit may find their accelerators disabled by devices that are being considered in Australia.

According to the experts "Driving too fast causes 1.25 million road traffic deaths a year globally, and is a major contributor to the 6.9 per cent increase in deaths on Australian roads to 1275 in the year ending August 31."

The road safety experts called for all European vehicles to be fitted with Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) devices. These use speed sign recognition and satellite information to warn drivers with sounds or message if they exceed the limit.

The council launched a campaign on YouTube to build support for ISA, saying it had a huge potential to save lives.

Some devices, which have already been integrated into some new models of Ford cars, have an override function that can stop speeding drivers from using the accelerator until they return to the speed limit.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/function-to-stop-speedsters-from-using-accelerator-the-way-to-cut-road-deaths-20160929-grrqox.html

Anyone want this fitted to their car? I can see problems...


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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by quintessence on Tuesday October 04 2016, @09:20AM

    by quintessence (6227) on Tuesday October 04 2016, @09:20AM (#409896)

    speed limits are one of the most selectively enforced laws and a system where most people commit crimes but only certain ones are punished is a lot closer to fascism than one where everyone is punished for violations.

    Because the law itself is "vague". Driving the speed limit during rush hour? You're impeding the flow of traffic. Planting yourself in the left hand lane without passing? In my state, improper lane usage.

    Anyone with a modicum of sensibility realizes traffic laws (edit: most laws) are contextual (such as exceeding the speed limit to allow for passage of an emergency vehicle, not driving the minimum speed limit when condition are bad, etc.), but you always have law and order types who insist on following the letter of the law without understanding the why (usually safety or ticket revenue) of the law.

    Not to mention there is no reason to just stop there when we can have perfect enforcement of all laws with just some minor modifications to your civil rights (embedded detectors for any illegal substances, 24/7 CCTV everywhere, etc).

    This was brought up during the 70s. It was a stupid idea then, and it's a stupid idea now, but I guess every generation needs the opportunity to rediscover the depths of their stupidity.

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