Posted on 03/25/2015 9:42:17 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
Ford says it has the answer for speed demons who can't keep their gas pedals off the metal: A car that reads speed limit signs and automatically slows down.
Ford says that the newest edition of its S-Max car has "a new technology that scans traffic signs and adjusts the throttle to help drivers stay within legal speed limits and avoid fines."
The new system, called the intelligent speed limiter, was unveiled by Ford of Europe in Germany on Tuesday. But Ford's European division said the technology will be available worldwide.
The S-Max can read signs with its traffic sign recognition system and adjusts for speed accordingly. And it doesn't need to pull down the brake to slow down the car.
"The system does not apply the brakes but smoothly controls engine torque by electronically adjusting the amount of fuel delivered," the company said in a press release.
But the fun isn't completely over for speedsters.
"Drivers can temporarily override the system by pressing firmly on the accelerator," said Ford.
The technology seems to be a step in the direction of the driverless car, also known as an autonomous car. While these cars have yet to hit the market, Audi unveiled one last year that reached 140 miles per hour with no driver at the wheel.
Google and Nokia have also been experimenting with driverless cars. Google's electric-powered LUTZ Pathfinder started rolling through London last month at a not-so-brisk 12 miles per hour, and the company plans to expand tests later this week.
Auto parts company Delphi has a driverless car, an Audi SQ5, that is currently driving cross-country. The car, which has several passengers, started on Sunday.
You read my mind.
I’m guessing this won’t apply to the police interceptor models?
I definitely see myself not buying a Ford.
Reading the article, there are two overrides:
1) dash switch
2) depress throttle past a detent point (probably 90%) like the old kick-down on an automatic
In the future, Big Brother will enforce compliance on everyone.
What I’m looking forward to is my Soylent Green automated feed tube installation.
And who pays the fine when high school kids start putting up fake speed limit signs?
The US car industry stopped caring about making the best cars and trucks years years ago. Quality passenger vehicles are an occasional side effect of a system that instead is built to derive profit from government subsidies and implementing onerous regulations.
lol GOOD point.
Next will be a car that you have enter your destination and be approved before you can go there, if you’re approved.
Driving is an art and a science. Good drivers take speed limits as guidelines, and have a feel for the traffic flow. Besides that, there are many times when it's necessary to accelerate (and risk a ticket) to maneuver away from a potential accident. This is particularly true for us compact car drivers. I wouldn't want to depend on having to accelerate enough to release the limit mechanism.
Once these cars are on the road, it will not be long before vehicles will be like seats on a chairlift....regulated to their place in an orderly line.
What if one needed to accelerate to avoid a collision, to quickly change lanes to avoid debris, a stalled vehicle directly ahead and numerous other reasons?
What a disaster.
I would never purchase a vehicle with that kind of maneuverability control. Never.
Hail, fellow vandal!
Just as I crossed the Maryland line on that lonely road, a state trooper stopped me for going 70. I was lucky to get off with a warning, probably because I had three beautiful girls in the car. When I hit the interstate, of course, I was back to 70 and maintaining near that speed until the John Hopkins exit into Baltimore. People were passing me and giving me the finger.
Another Maryland state trooper warned me that I needed to go with the flow of traffic regardless of the posted 60 mph speed limit. My daughter still laughs about the day that her Dad collected two warnings on opposite sides of Maryland.
So what happens when an American car with this technology drives in Canada? Alberta Hwy 1, North from the border, is 110 km/hr. (69 mph). If the car reads ONLY the number rather than the ‘km/hr’, WOW!
Even worse, imagine a Canadian car so equipped, going into the States! Imagine doing 65 km/hr (43 mph) on an Interstate! An accident waiting to happen!
Does the Prius have the feature to drive 10mph UNDER the speed limit and only in the fast lane?
What if this brainiac Ford misses a 15mph sign in a school zone and some kid is killed? Oh well.
If you were able to set it yourself to your personal liking, I would be ok.
up +7 over the speed limit ok at highway speeds.
no more than +4 at speed limits less than 40
and no more than +1 at speed limits less than 20 (school zones)
with the ability of course to overide in a needed emergency
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