Law to fit ‘speed governor’ to all Californian vehicles proposed

A controversial law to use vehicle speed limiters to stop drivers exceeding the posted limit by more than 10mph (16km/h) has been proposed in the state of California in the US.

Website Carscoops reports state senator Scott Wiener has proposed speed governors be fitted to all new cars and trucks sold from 2027.

The San Francisco senator has faced off critics who say the idea – the first of its kind in the US – is an overreach, defending the idea by calling it common sense.

“I don’t think it’s at all an overreach, and I don’t think most people would view it as an overreach,” Senator Wiener told television station ABC7.

“We have speed limits; I think most people support speed limits because people know that speed kills.

“I think if you ask anyone, do people need to be driving more than 10 miles an hour over the speed limit, I think most people would say no.

“I don’t want people driving more than 10 miles an hour in my neighbourhood.”

The proposed Senate Bill 961 has no detail on how the technology – which uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) – would specifically work.

Speed-limiting technology has been featured in many new cars for more than a decade and now is widely available.

Often called ‘Intelligent Speed Assistance’ (ISA), many current new cars have the ability to both read speed limit signs and adjust vehicle speed accordingly.

ISA systems use GPS map data to continually update speed limit changes while a vehicle is moving.

The system was made mandatory on all new cars sold in the European Union (EU) from July 2022, where preliminary data showed a reduction in fatalities of 19-28 per cent (varying between countries).

There are currently no regulations for ISA’s mandatory fitment to new vehicles in Australia or the USA, nor any alternate type of speed-limiting device.

In 2021, ANCAP (Australasian New Car Assessment Program) CEO Carla Hoorweg recommended a parliamentary Joint Select Committee on Road Safety should follow the EU’s timeframe in mandating such technology in Australia from July 2022.

ANCAP has strong ties with the European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP).

In 2023, the US National Transport Safety Board (NTSB) wrote to 17 car makers urging them to implement ISA in their vehicles after a fatal collision caused by a drug-affected driver speeding at 165km/h.

Despite not being mandated, ISA is available in many popular mainstream vehicles in Australian showrooms.

A key difference between the proposed California law is drivers are able to override ISA if they choose to.

Wiener’s Senate Bill 961 will face a committee in the second quarter of 2024 before it progresses further, with significant hurdles to jump before it may become law.