The state senate in California has passed a bill requiring new vehicles to have passive speed limiters. These devices would be required for all passenger vehicles sold or manufactured throughout the state. If passed, the law would take effect by 2032.
California’s government is worried about drivers speeding on the state’s many miles of highway and roads. Senate Bill 961 passed with 22 votes in favor to just 13 opposed. The legislation would require half of all new vehicles sold or made in the state to have passive speed limiters installed, which would go into effect by 2029. The percentage rises to 100 by 2032.
Passive Speed Limiters
A passive speed limiter is a technology that gives drivers signals when their current speed is more than 10 mph higher than the posted speed limit where they are driving at the time. These signals are audible and visual to warn drivers. The bill would mandate them on passenger vehicles, buses, and trucks, but emergency vehicles would be exempt from having passive speed limiters required.
Legislation Proposed
State Senator Scott Wiener proposed the legislation, citing statistics of growing traffic deaths across the state. From 2017 through 2021, approximately 35% of all California traffic fatalities were related to someone speeding. There were a total of 4,285 traffic deaths in 2021 in the state and 20 of those occurred in the city of Modesto. These deaths included drivers and passengers of motorized vehicles, but the deaths also included cyclists and pedestrians.
The bill now heads to the state Assembly, which has until August 31st. Should it become law, California would be the first state in the country with passive speed limiter requirements. However, it wouldn’t be the first government to take this step. The European Union had similar requirements that took effect earlier this month. There have also been calls for the federal government to implement a nationwide passive speed limiter requirement by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the National Transportation Safety Board.
The Technology
Passive speed limiters are also known as passive intelligent speed assistance systems. These systems are integrated into vehicles with GPS technology that checks a car’s position versus a database of known speed limits. If the system determines that the driver exceeds the posted speed limit by over 10 mph, it triggers one-time audio and visual signals to let the driver know when they go past the upper limit. In some cases, the same area might have conflicting speed limits. The system is designed to go with its dataset’s higher available speed limits.
Across the country, 43,000 people die each year on the roads. The national percentage of speeding-related deaths is similar to California’s. Proponents of the legislation hope that repeat speeding offenders have active speed limiters required for their vehicles.
