The systems use GPS and cameras to deter a driver from going too fast in the form of warnings or limiting a vehicle’s speed.
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SACRAMENTO, CA — A newly proposed bill would require vehicles sold in California to be equipped with systems that prevent motorists from driving more than 10 miles above the speed limit.
Senate Bill 961 was introduced this week by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, as one of two bills under what he is calling the Speeding and Fatality Emergency Reduction on California Streets Package.
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The bill includes a first-in-the-nation requirement that new vehicles sold in California, starting with the 2027 model year, be equipped with an intelligent speed limiter. The limiters use GPS technology and sometimes on-board cameras to determine a road’s speed limit and deter the driver from going too fast via audio, visual or vibration warnings, or by limiting the vehicle’s speed, according to a news release from Wiener’s office.
Under the bill, violating a limiter would be punishable as a crime.
Wiener cited rising traffic deaths as one of the main reasons for his proposal.
Traffic fatalities in California rose 22 percent from 2019 to 2022, compared to a 19 percent increase in the U.S. overall, according to national transportation research group TRIP, which found a 23 percent rise in speeding-related crashes in the state during the same time period. In 2022, 4,400 Californians died in car crashes.
“The alarming surge in road deaths is unbearable and demands an urgent response,” Wiener said in the news release. “There is no reason for anyone to be going over 100 miles per hour on a public road, yet in 2020, California Highway Patrol issued over 3,000 tickets for just that offense. Preventing reckless speeding is a commonsense approach to prevent these utterly needless and heartbreaking crashes.”
In the European Union, speed limiters will be required starting in July in all vehicles sold, the news release noted.
Wiener’s bill would exempt emergency vehicles from the limiter rule and would allow the state highway patrol commissioner to authorize limiters to be disabled for other vehicles based on certain criteria.
The proposal would also mandate that trucks and trailers weighing more than 10,000 pounds that are sold, manufactured or registered in the state have side guards to reduce the risk of cars and bikes being pulled under large vehicles in a crash.
Senate Bill 961’s companion bill in the legislative package is Senate Bill 960, which would require Caltrans to install improvements such as new crosswalks and curb extensions on state-owned surface streets to better accommodate pedestrians, cyclists and other travelers who are not motorists.
Eugen Boglaru is an AI aficionado covering the fascinating and rapidly advancing field of Artificial Intelligence. From machine learning breakthroughs to ethical considerations, Eugen provides readers with a deep dive into the world of AI, demystifying complex concepts and exploring the transformative impact of intelligent technologies.
