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GPS trial to enforce speed limit

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by Orf, Jun 24, 2008.

  1. Orf

    Orf New Member

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    The following article appeared in my local paper (Tasmania, Australia):

    GPS trial to enforce speed limit on drivers
    SYDNEY — Car systems that tell drivers of speed limits and reduce vehicle speed if they fail to slow down are to be trialled in three states.
    The NSW Centre for Road Safety will install 100 cars with GPS devices that will notify drivers of the speed limit and warn them when they are going to fast.
    If they fail to slow down, other technology will kick in to limit the supply of fuel to the engine, forcing a reduction in the vehicle's speed.
    If successful, the trial in the Illawarra region could lead to a wider rollout of the system, with the technology adopted during car manufacture, says NSW Roads Minister Eric Roozendaal.
    The technology will also be trialled in Victoria and Western Australia.
    Asked if the speed intervention system posed any safety risk, Mr Roozendaal said an override function would give drivers some control in emergency situations.

    There was some talk of this on TV and it seems that the Prius will be one of the trial vehicles.
    I would imagine that the override function would be flooring the accelerator but from my experience, the whole concept could be highly dangerous.
    For instance, sometimes my nav jumps to a parallel side road with a 50 kph speed limit although I am on a highway with 110 kph speed limit. A sudden drop in speed could be interpreted as a car failure of some sort. Also, my nav recently gave the wrong position continuously and thus would have picked up incorrect speed limits.
    I agree with the concept but the practicalities could be confusing and dangerous.
     
  2. minkforce1

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    my nav system gets some weird ideas around highways, and continuously thinks im running on the service drive instead of the highway. i wouldnt let them install anything like that in my car, its completely too big brother, too dangerous, and too ridiculous.
     
  3. Bill Merchant

    Bill Merchant absit invidia

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    Last summer I was driving about 50 miles (80 km) from my home. The radio had been scratchy, which was unusual, and the announcer mentioned that there were sun spots causing interference. My nav system showed me driving across fields and rivers and crossing the highway I was on three times.

    An alternative to remote control would be increased local enforcement. But that would require government to actually do something.:peep:
     
  4. zeeman

    zeeman Member

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    how about getting rid of idiots in government?
    that would be a start.
     
  5. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    As long as idiots vote, they'll elect idiots to government. It's the price of democracy.
     
  6. Rybold

    Rybold globally warmed member

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    So now the government will be controlling the gas pedals in our cars? Wait until computer hackers get a hold of this one. Big government, little government, no government ... what?

    Sounds eerily reminiscent of Orwell's 1984.

    What happens when your irate coworker or neighbor is charging after you, machette in hand ? Will you be allowed to put the pedal to the floor, or will a soft-toned female OnStar voice come over your car's speakers and say "This is the State Highway Patrol's automated computer system. We are now over-riding your speed." :director::eek::deadhorse::usa2::ph34r:
     
  7. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    The trials will be in Australia where the most dangerous thing your neighbour comes after you with is a few bottles of his bad home brew wanting you to drink with him and tell him it's good.

    Sometimes my nav system tells me the speed limit is 25km/h near push button pedestrian crossings on 60km/h roads. Sometimes on country back roads it puts me in a field. Could be a worry.
     
  8. Rokeby

    Rokeby Member

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    There are numerous reports that some roads aren't on even the most
    current NavSystem discs. What will the system do then... print in large
    letters on the MFD: Wilde Beasts Live Here, with a picture of a sea
    serpent?

    I suppose we'd get to buy a required NavSys update annually.

    Another case of, "I'm from Washington, and I'm here to help you."
     
  9. KayakerNC

    KayakerNC Member

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    Washington has moved to Australia? :eek:
     
  10. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    What? Don't tell me you didn't know?
    Bush made such a mess there that all the government bureaucrats decided to move the capital off shore.

    I thought that was old news.
     
  11. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    I think this could be a good idea if only installed on cars of repeat offenders of speeding.

    Say a three strikes and your out rule. Lets say each of those three times you were going 5mph over the speed limit. The total of speed over the speed limit of those three offenses would be 15. Take that number and that would be how many months this device Will be installed on your car.

    If the offender is caught driving another car to avoid the device or caught tampering the device suspend the drivers license for the same amount of months.

    If the offender is caught speeding again after the device is removed either double the original time the device was installed or suspend the license.

    I think that might work if enforced. But it might be cheaper if there were more police enforcing the speed limit.
     
  12. hill

    hill High Fiber Member

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    As far as high speed injury-fatalities-accidents ~ just think how lame it would be if auto / motorbike manufacturers only built vehicles that went no faster than 75mph. How lame would that be ... after all, just because fuel is on the ever increasing spiral upward ... we have a God given right to speed, if we want ... don't we? Or to try & out run the cops after we steel cars, etc. God forbid, we should not build cars that'll do 90 ... 100 ... or 160 mph.

    :D
     
  13. davidhol

    davidhol New Member

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    I'd be interested in what type of GPS is experiencing accuracy problems. You may try using the GPS in WAAS mode if available. I have a Garmin c530 Streetpilot and have not had any accuracy problems even when not in WAAS mode which consumes more power.
     
  14. rxcrider

    rxcrider Junior Member

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    Part of the issue with accuracy is map errors. Base maps regularly show roads out of location and auto-routing programs require the software to correct your location to match the map. When roads are close to each other, the software will put you on the closest matching road, which may not be the road you are on. I regularly see roads that are 1/8 mile out of location according to the GPS.

    As for putting speed limits on the GPS, I'm all for being notified about speed limit changes and about being over, but taking the control away from the driver is a safety issue. This is something that would have to installed on all vehicles and then all turned on at once, or not at all. Only trying it on a small portion of the motoring population will cause accidents when people are zipping along in traffic and their car decides to slow down by itself regardless of the speed and proximity of the vehicle behind it.
     
  15. KayakerNC

    KayakerNC Member

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    Well, that could explain Cheney's "undisclosed location". :cool:
     
  16. PearlDriver

    PearlDriver Junior Member

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    In the US we need to be concerned about the government continually eroding our rights and spying on us. This and our telephones make us totally trackable.

    Corporations will use this information against us--refuse to pay for damages after an accident, raise our rates etc.

    Unless we pressure our legislators to understand that we still believe in Patrick Henry's famous statement "Give me liberty or give me death!" we will continue to inform corporations of our every move.
     
  17. PearlDriver

    PearlDriver Junior Member

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    In response to "The Force": I am concerned about your support of the most libertarian candidate out there while espousing such a Fascist concept.

    I doubt Mr. Paul would agree with such a concept.
     
  18. Ichabod

    Ichabod Artist In Residence

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    A simple example of this that's not a GPS error, or a map error: Program a destination. Start driving. Find a point on your route where a parallel road branches off but stays close to the road that's in your programmed route (e.g. a service road on a highway). Follow the road that branches off, not the one on your GPS guide. In my factory-installed nav system, the result of this is always that the navi assumes I'm still on the guided route and doesn't correct position unless the road diverges significantly.
     
  19. TheForce

    TheForce Stop War! Lets Rave! Make Love!

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    Well I don't support it at all but if they do use something like this I would not mind it so much as long as they only used it on repeat offenders of speeding. When you break the law you lose some of your freedoms. If your not breaking the law you should be left alone no questions asked. Privacy is very important to have but once you break the law then the government has the right to snoop around a little. That little bit is limited to what is written in documents like the constitution and the bill of rights, etc... Even if this was used as punishment it still may be unconstitutional here in America.
     
  20. Cheap!

    Cheap! New Member

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    What if you look at this the other way around? What if it was a feature?

    Let's just say you are determined not to get a speeding ticket so you turn this thing on and you can't drive over the speed limit until you turn it off again. Can you imagine the traffic cops faces when all the cars around them are not speeding, not even a little bit. Another use might be to update you so you know where the known speed traps are.

    Just turn it on you can relax knowing there will be no speeding ticket for you today. You could always shut it off and speed all you want, and the police would just be left to tracking your speed by your cell phone signal.