What has happened to the proposed electronic control of vehicles in speed limits?
PB of Rochester is most definitely missing something and I'm surprised how few drivers appreciate the importance of what you wrote in your reply. If you're that close to the lorry/coach/bus in front of you, of course they can't see you in their door mirrors. More to the point, you have no idea what's happening with the traffic in front of them and should they need to do an emergency stop, I don't think much of your chance of surviving. Wasn’t there a proposal for big brother electronic control of vehicle speeds?
Asked on 10 July 2011 by HD, Harrow
Answered by
Honest John
Many thanks, but I thought I explained that. There was a proposal for 'Intelligent Speed Adaptation' that used GPS to control the speed of cars in the same way as the latest satnav warns you of the prevailing speed limit. Unfortunately the mapping does no necessarily stay up to date. Also, a 30-limited road bridge over a 70-limited road can make vehicles on the 70 road suddenly slow to 30. And huge numbers of crashes are anyway prevented by vehicles accelerating out of danger rather than braking into it. ISA could therefore increase crashes rather than reduce them. What is good is radar or camera systems that detect vehicles or people in front and stop the car. See this video in which I put my life (or at least my legs) on the line: www.honestjohn.co.uk/road-tests/ford/ford-focus 2011//?section=video
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