Title: Ford's new car will force you to obey the speed limit Source:
engadget URL Source:[None] Published:Mar 24, 2015 Author:Daniel Cooper Post Date:2015-03-24 17:23:44 by cranky Keywords:None Views:1874 Comments:8
Much as we'd like to emulate our NASCAR heroes, breaking the speed limit often comes at a price. Ford is hoping to prevent accidents and speeding tickets by introducing cars that can see what the speed limit is and preventing heavy-footed motorists from driving any faster. Ford's Intelligent Speed Limiter tech will first appear on the new Ford S-Max that's launching in Europe that could just change the way that we drive.
A camera mounted on the windshield scans the road signs on the sides of the highway and, when the vehicle enters a 20mph zone, the system reduces the top speed to match. Rather than controlling the speed with automatic braking, the car limits its own velocity by adjusting the amount of fuel being pushed to the engine.
If a burst of speed is required, however, users can either deactivate the system by pressing a button on the console or temporarily get past it with a hard press on the gas pedal. If the vehicle is coasting downhill and starts to build up speed, the car will sense its motion and sound an alarm to get you braking. It's not the only bit of new safety tech available on the new whip, either, since deep-pocketed motorists can also get pedestrian detection and collision warnings. That frees drivers up to wonder why any car firm would call a car SMAX and think we wouldn't notice.
A camera mounted on the windshield scans the road signs on the sides of the highway and, when the vehicle enters a 20mph zone,
Why bother with that when GPS data includes what the speed limit is on the roadways where Google Maps calculates (pretty accurately) distance and arrival time?
Why bother with that when GPS data includes what the speed limit is on the roadways where Google Maps calculates (pretty accurately) distance and arrival time?
A couple or three decades ago, the Pennsy turnpike used to give out tickets if cars arrived at their exit too quickly.
At least that's what I was told when I worked there.