The Surprisingly Not So Doomed Effort To Force Us Drivers To Stop Speeding
Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
California Senator Scott Wiener is used to pushback when he proposes laws aimed at reining in reckless drivers and improving road safety in his car-dependent state. But even he was caught off guard when, earlier this year, he introduced a new bill requiring a speed governor" on all new cars sold in the state. The opposition from drivers was so fierce that he had to rewrite the proposal to only require weaker versions of the technology.
There were people who loved it, people who hated it, people who were mad at me, spouses who were arguing with each other about it," Wiener said in an interview. It was an interesting situation. There's a certain cultural embrace of being able to drive your car however you want to drive your car."
Speeding is part of our cultural identity. Automakers frequently advertise new cars tearing through empty cities or weaving through traffic well above safe speeds. Movies and television shows frequently push these boundaries further. And social media further glorifies lawbreaking by providing a platform for speedsters. It all perpetuates the idea that speeding is not only safe but an American right.
There's a certain cultural embrace of being able to drive your car however you want to drive your car."
Yet speeding is one of the most deadly things you can do in a vehicle.In 2023, more than 40,000 people died in traffic accidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data released in April of this year. That's down about 36 percent from 2022, when crashes accounted for nearly 43,000 deaths. The previous year was even worse, with speeding fatalities reaching a 14-year high.
[...] Driver's behavior is the overwhelming cause of traffic crashes," Jonathan Adkins, CEO of the Governors Highway Safety Association.We're driving too fast or drinking, we're not wearing our seatbelt. We're distracted by our cell phones. It's all those behaviors that lead to the vast majority of crashes."
Salvation could come from technology like intelligent speed assistance (ISA) systems, but there's a lot of nuance. These systems use cameras, radar, and lidar in conjunction with GPS data to detect both the speed of your vehicle and read" the speed limit signs on the road.
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