Most drivers want their car to warn them when they reach a lethal speed — Streetsblog USA

Most American drivers would be happy to accept technology that warns them to slow down when they exceed the speed limit, according to a new survey. And a surprising number of them are even open to systems that prevent them from reaching deadly speeds.

More than 60 percent of drivers surveyed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety would “accept” a “passive” version of Intelligent Speed ​​Assist technology that automatically detects the local speed limit and then issues an unobtrusive warning to remind drivers to slow down. These systems will become mandatory on all cars sold in the European Union starting next month and are already available in some U.S. vehicles; the NTSB called for a similar requirement here last year.

Some opponents claim that speed limiters are a restriction of freedom, but about half of the survey respondents said they would “not mind” a more aggressive cruise control that makes it physically harder to step on the accelerator, or even one that limits the vehicle’s speed to the local speed limit.

“These results are exciting because they suggest that American drivers are willing to change the way they drive to make our roads safer,” said David Harkey, president of the institute, in a press release. “The general opinion has always been that speed-limiting technologies would not work in our car-centric culture.”

Even in the early days of the automobile, early versions of speed limiter technology – which at the time simply restricted the maximum engine speed to a preset limit – were seen as an important means of curbing what was already considered a major factor in the rising number of road deaths. Studies show that pedestrians in particular are much more likely to die when struck by vehicles travelling at 40 mph – a speed that is all too common on major roads designed for 35 mph or more.

But while speed limiters have evolved, U.S. regulators have been hesitant about even the oldest versions of the technology, routinely rolling off the lot of cars capable of traveling faster than 100 mph — and on roads where the speed limit was not exceeded. all over the country is only 85.

Now that more advanced forms of intelligent speed assistance are becoming ubiquitous around the world, advocates are trying to figure out how to get U.S. regulators to accept them — and how to get consumers not to turn off these systems once they’re installed in their cars. Nearly 60 percent of drivers surveyed said they would be OK with a warning-only system, and 51 percent said they would accept an “active” system that makes it harder to step on the accelerator. A full 48 percent — a very large minority — would accept a system that actually limits their speed.

Significantly, these drivers said they would accept ISA a little more if most other Drivers had their own systems, but adoption declined as the technology became more aggressive. And 70 percent of drivers in all groups “agreed that they would want ISA in their next car if their insurance company reduced their premiums based on evidence that they were not speeding,” or if the threshold for intervention was raised to 10 miles per hour over the limit instead of just one or two.

The latter idea will probably not seem acceptable to safer streets advocates when they realize how many U.S. cities already set speed limits dangerously high – and how many roads are routinely designed to encourage far higher speeds than the numbers printed on the road signs. However, as we work to meet the generational challenge of lowering speed limits, And The institute is optimistic that many lives could be saved by installing speed limiters in vehicles if appropriate roads are designed. And since drivers in the US are less averse to speed limiters than previously thought, “a federal regulation could help overcome resistance.”

“This technology enables differentiated interventions that were not possible in the past,” Harkey added. “The next step is to encourage automakers and drivers to adopt it so we can start saving lives.”