Built-in car breathalysers and speed limiters will save countless lives
Posted: Wed Nov 20, 2019 10:37 pm
So says the IAM, welcoming implementation of the requirement for all new cars to have them from 2022. Countless - could mean anything, but probably intended to mean a lot, in which case I doubt it.
The speed limiters are at least initially to be voluntary. Who believes that the technology telling the car the current speed limit is reliable enough even for a voluntary device? I now appreciate having an in car speed limit display (we have it in three of our cars) but it does sometimes make mistakes.
There was a particularly good implementation in a hire car I drove for a week. The car had a head up display, and on the head up display the current speed was displayed alongside the limit, with a colour change and increase in boldness if the current speed was over the limit. I think it made me more compliant - but not safer!
As for the breathalysers, the IAM think they should only be required in cars driven by those previously convicted of drink driving. I am not sure how that would work for cars driven by drink drivers and others, or for former drink drivers who drive a range of vehicles.
The speed limiters are at least initially to be voluntary. Who believes that the technology telling the car the current speed limit is reliable enough even for a voluntary device? I now appreciate having an in car speed limit display (we have it in three of our cars) but it does sometimes make mistakes.
There was a particularly good implementation in a hire car I drove for a week. The car had a head up display, and on the head up display the current speed was displayed alongside the limit, with a colour change and increase in boldness if the current speed was over the limit. I think it made me more compliant - but not safer!
As for the breathalysers, the IAM think they should only be required in cars driven by those previously convicted of drink driving. I am not sure how that would work for cars driven by drink drivers and others, or for former drink drivers who drive a range of vehicles.