7 ms·

A number of years back I had a rental car (in Arizona possibly) that had a speed limiter that was at the speed limit--or just above--as I recall and it was incr

by ghaff 2y ago

A number of years back I had a rental car (in Arizona possibly) that had a speed limiter that was at the speed limit--or just above--as I recall and it was incredibly annoying.

shortrounddev2 2y ago
What was annoying about it?
- brink 2y ago
  Nobody drives exactly the speed limit - except apparently Europeans now.
  - OnlyMortal 2y ago
    EU.
- lolinder 2y ago
  Not OP, but I can hazard some guesses: * Very few people drive the speed limit, so you're now stuck at being the slowest car on the road. (This will still be a problem under this law because new vehicles are the only ones affected.) * Inaccurate/out of date speed limits. * Impossible to pass anyone on a two lane road. * Having the car take over control is very disorienting for a skilled driver who expects the machine to function as an extension of their body. See the number of people who prefer manual transmission and who eschew cruise control.
  - shortrounddev2 2y ago
    The first doesn't really win any sympathy from me lol. People should drive the speed limit, and I have no sympathy for people who tell me about getting pulled over by cops
    - galdosdi 2y ago
      No, OTHER people, not the driver. He's saying OTHER PEOPLE drive over the limit, and OTHER PEOPLE are NOT in your control, so "haveing no sympathy" is irrelevant here. You have no sympathy for me when i find myself driving amongst others who drive above the limit? Their speeds are not in my control. Only mine is. And if the limiter prevents me from going the same speeds as everyone around me, I will be constantly passed and in greater danger of wrecking. Do you even have a drivers' license? You evince very little familiarity with practical every day driving. If you are a driver, how many years experience in which countries? It would help us gauge the relevance of your comments -- different countries have different driving cultures.
      - novagameco 2y ago
        > You have no sympathy for me when i find myself driving amongst others who drive above the limit? I also often find myself driving among other people who speed. I stay to the right with the OTHER drivers who are following the law. I always drive the speed limit and it's never a problem for me. Many states' laws require this, anyway (faster traffic to the left, slower traffic to the right).
        galdosdi 2y ago
        Yes, I stay to the right too unless passing or exiting to the left, etc, for the reasons you said and others too (the right lane has a shoulder next to it, increasing options in an emergency) Still gets you passed a lot if you're unnecessarily slow though. If the prevailing speed is a speed I feel unsafe going, then sure, I'll accept the passing. But if the prevailing speed feels safe -- it might just be 5 MPH over the limit, or the limit might be unnecessarily low -- of course I will just go the prevailing speed, to maximize safety. What kind of a fool would do otherwise, just to satisfy an imaginary policeman in his head?
        novagameco 2y ago
        Well 5mph isn't really speeding; as far I know they set the speed limits 5mph lower than they really are (e.g: 55mph means 60mph). But trust me, the imaginary police are very much not imaginary. I got a couple speeding tickets before I decided I wasn't going to deal with the courts ever again. Now, I do the speed limit. I see cops everywhere on the highways in my state and they definitely will pull you over going 10-ish over. Until recently, anything over 80mph (even if the highway was posted 70mph) was reckless driving (now It's 85 I think)
  - ryandrake 2y ago
    > Very few people drive the speed limit, so you're now stuck at being the slowest car on the road. (This will still be a problem under this law because new vehicles are the only ones affected.) This is by far the most dangerous part. When you're on a freeway where everyone is driving 80-85MPH and you are driving the speed limit of 65MPH, you are the danger to the road. Speed may make accidents deadlier, but the speed differential (whether positive or negative) is what causes accidents. I would not be willing to drive on any of the major Bay Area interstate highways with a car limited to the speed limit. It would absolutely cause an accident eventually.
    - bigfudge 2y ago
      Do you have any evidence this is the case? All the research I’ve ever read has said that speed is the major contributing factor to injury and death. Also, if this gets mandated then you would very soon not be the only car limited. These kinds of arguments are annoying because they don’t address the detail of what is proposed here (mostly warnings in car) or the likely dynamics of future changes.
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
- cheeseomlit 2y ago
  Nobody follows the speed limit that closely, in the US at least. If my car was hard-capped at the posted limit I'd have a mile-long line of honking tailgaters behind me in no time
  - Zigurd 2y ago
    Only until speed-limited cars reach a critical mass.
  - novagameco 2y ago
    If you hog the left lane, sure. I follow the posted speed limit and it's never a problem for me
    - nradov 2y ago
      You never drive on two-lane rural roads? Getting stuck behind a slow vehicle is torture.
      - novagameco 2y ago
        they usually allow passing at specified points
        lolinder 2y ago
        Which are often few, far between, and quite short. If there's any kind of traffic coming the opposite way you can miss your chance over and over again.
- oneepic 2y ago
  I would have to guess you can't speed up to pass another vehicle (think bus or truck, or maybe a dangerous situation) and then you will piss off anyone in the fast lane who does not have these limiters.
  - shortrounddev2 2y ago
    Cant speak to europe, but in the US you're not supposed to speed up past the speed limit to pass someone, that's illegal. We also don't have "fast lanes" (ie like how the autobahn has sections with no speed limit), we only have passing lanes, but the speed limit still applies in the passing lane. You're not supposed to stay in the left lane for very long
    - zamadatix 2y ago
      Fast lane probably meant left/passing lane, not unrestricted roads. That you're not supposed to stay in them long is part of why people speed up to pass, otherwise it takes a minute seconds to gain 60 feet on that semi going just under. Speaking to the US as a whole on traffic law is hard to do. E.g. in Washington it is absolutely legal to exceed the speed limit to pass someone on the highway, in California it isn't. In California it's illegal to sit in the fast lane, in Minnesota it's not. In Minnesota you can turn right on certain reds, in DC you can't.
      - novagameco 2y ago
        In my state, it's illegal to go over the speed limit at any point, for any reason. If you want to pass someone, you do so in the left lane, at the speed limit, and then move back over to the middle/right lane. And you best believe you'll get pulled over
        isatty 2y ago
        And what state is that? I do know that some states are over zealous about this but two vehicles driving next to each other slowing gaining on another to overtake is also creating a dangerous road situation. This is taught when you take your written test in CA. Trucks don’t really have a choice which is why it’s normal for them to do so even on a two lane highway.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- Swizec 2y ago
  My experience of learning to drive in Europe is that there are roads where the speed limit is 90kph but any non-local sane person will drive 60kph (most mountain roads) and there are roads where the limit is 130kph but regular traffic flows at 140kph and many people cruise (safely) at 150kph. The people actually doing 130kph on the left lane (trucks go 90 on the right) can be a safety hazard. And like others have said, the laws actually say "speed limit unless passing". Because passing is dangerous and should be done as quickly as possible.
  - Symbiote 2y ago
    > the laws actually say "speed limit unless passing". None that I'm aware of in Europe say this. Which country are you describing?
    - Swizec 2y ago
      It's what I was told in driver's ed. Maybe assuming that they're only teaching me how to drive by-the-book was wrong.
- ghaff 2y ago
  Basically it kept cutting out right around the speed limit (may have been 5mph over) on the highway. It wasn't "smart" just an absolute limit. (I think wherever I was had a relatively high speed limit for the time--maybe 70--so it was probably some standard governor setting which was sort of unreasonable for where I was, but a long time ago.)

by ghaff 2y ago

A number of years back I had a rental car (in Arizona possibly) that had a speed limiter that was at the speed limit--or just above--as I recall and it was incredibly annoying.

shortrounddev2 2y ago

What was annoying about it?

brink 2y ago
Nobody drives exactly the speed limit - except apparently Europeans now.
- OnlyMortal 2y ago
  EU.
lolinder 2y ago
Not OP, but I can hazard some guesses: * Very few people drive the speed limit, so you're now stuck at being the slowest car on the road. (This will still be a problem under this law because new vehicles are the only ones affected.) * Inaccurate/out of date speed limits. * Impossible to pass anyone on a two lane road. * Having the car take over control is very disorienting for a skilled driver who expects the machine to function as an extension of their body. See the number of people who prefer manual transmission and who eschew cruise control.
- shortrounddev2 2y ago
  The first doesn't really win any sympathy from me lol. People should drive the speed limit, and I have no sympathy for people who tell me about getting pulled over by cops
  - galdosdi 2y ago
    No, OTHER people, not the driver. He's saying OTHER PEOPLE drive over the limit, and OTHER PEOPLE are NOT in your control, so "haveing no sympathy" is irrelevant here. You have no sympathy for me when i find myself driving amongst others who drive above the limit? Their speeds are not in my control. Only mine is. And if the limiter prevents me from going the same speeds as everyone around me, I will be constantly passed and in greater danger of wrecking. Do you even have a drivers' license? You evince very little familiarity with practical every day driving. If you are a driver, how many years experience in which countries? It would help us gauge the relevance of your comments -- different countries have different driving cultures.
    - novagameco 2y ago
      > You have no sympathy for me when i find myself driving amongst others who drive above the limit? I also often find myself driving among other people who speed. I stay to the right with the OTHER drivers who are following the law. I always drive the speed limit and it's never a problem for me. Many states' laws require this, anyway (faster traffic to the left, slower traffic to the right).
      - galdosdi 2y ago
        Yes, I stay to the right too unless passing or exiting to the left, etc, for the reasons you said and others too (the right lane has a shoulder next to it, increasing options in an emergency) Still gets you passed a lot if you're unnecessarily slow though. If the prevailing speed is a speed I feel unsafe going, then sure, I'll accept the passing. But if the prevailing speed feels safe -- it might just be 5 MPH over the limit, or the limit might be unnecessarily low -- of course I will just go the prevailing speed, to maximize safety. What kind of a fool would do otherwise, just to satisfy an imaginary policeman in his head?
        novagameco 2y ago
        Well 5mph isn't really speeding; as far I know they set the speed limits 5mph lower than they really are (e.g: 55mph means 60mph). But trust me, the imaginary police are very much not imaginary. I got a couple speeding tickets before I decided I wasn't going to deal with the courts ever again. Now, I do the speed limit. I see cops everywhere on the highways in my state and they definitely will pull you over going 10-ish over. Until recently, anything over 80mph (even if the highway was posted 70mph) was reckless driving (now It's 85 I think)
- ryandrake 2y ago
  > Very few people drive the speed limit, so you're now stuck at being the slowest car on the road. (This will still be a problem under this law because new vehicles are the only ones affected.) This is by far the most dangerous part. When you're on a freeway where everyone is driving 80-85MPH and you are driving the speed limit of 65MPH, you are the danger to the road. Speed may make accidents deadlier, but the speed differential (whether positive or negative) is what causes accidents. I would not be willing to drive on any of the major Bay Area interstate highways with a car limited to the speed limit. It would absolutely cause an accident eventually.
  - bigfudge 2y ago
    Do you have any evidence this is the case? All the research I’ve ever read has said that speed is the major contributing factor to injury and death. Also, if this gets mandated then you would very soon not be the only car limited. These kinds of arguments are annoying because they don’t address the detail of what is proposed here (mostly warnings in car) or the likely dynamics of future changes.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
cheeseomlit 2y ago
Nobody follows the speed limit that closely, in the US at least. If my car was hard-capped at the posted limit I'd have a mile-long line of honking tailgaters behind me in no time
- Zigurd 2y ago
  Only until speed-limited cars reach a critical mass.
- novagameco 2y ago
  If you hog the left lane, sure. I follow the posted speed limit and it's never a problem for me
  - nradov 2y ago
    You never drive on two-lane rural roads? Getting stuck behind a slow vehicle is torture.
    - novagameco 2y ago
      they usually allow passing at specified points
      - lolinder 2y ago
        Which are often few, far between, and quite short. If there's any kind of traffic coming the opposite way you can miss your chance over and over again.
oneepic 2y ago
I would have to guess you can't speed up to pass another vehicle (think bus or truck, or maybe a dangerous situation) and then you will piss off anyone in the fast lane who does not have these limiters.
- shortrounddev2 2y ago
  Cant speak to europe, but in the US you're not supposed to speed up past the speed limit to pass someone, that's illegal. We also don't have "fast lanes" (ie like how the autobahn has sections with no speed limit), we only have passing lanes, but the speed limit still applies in the passing lane. You're not supposed to stay in the left lane for very long
  - zamadatix 2y ago
    Fast lane probably meant left/passing lane, not unrestricted roads. That you're not supposed to stay in them long is part of why people speed up to pass, otherwise it takes a minute seconds to gain 60 feet on that semi going just under. Speaking to the US as a whole on traffic law is hard to do. E.g. in Washington it is absolutely legal to exceed the speed limit to pass someone on the highway, in California it isn't. In California it's illegal to sit in the fast lane, in Minnesota it's not. In Minnesota you can turn right on certain reds, in DC you can't.
    - novagameco 2y ago
      In my state, it's illegal to go over the speed limit at any point, for any reason. If you want to pass someone, you do so in the left lane, at the speed limit, and then move back over to the middle/right lane. And you best believe you'll get pulled over
      - isatty 2y ago
        And what state is that? I do know that some states are over zealous about this but two vehicles driving next to each other slowing gaining on another to overtake is also creating a dangerous road situation. This is taught when you take your written test in CA. Trucks don’t really have a choice which is why it’s normal for them to do so even on a two lane highway.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
Swizec 2y ago
My experience of learning to drive in Europe is that there are roads where the speed limit is 90kph but any non-local sane person will drive 60kph (most mountain roads) and there are roads where the limit is 130kph but regular traffic flows at 140kph and many people cruise (safely) at 150kph. The people actually doing 130kph on the left lane (trucks go 90 on the right) can be a safety hazard. And like others have said, the laws actually say "speed limit unless passing". Because passing is dangerous and should be done as quickly as possible.
- Symbiote 2y ago
  > the laws actually say "speed limit unless passing". None that I'm aware of in Europe say this. Which country are you describing?
  - Swizec 2y ago
    It's what I was told in driver's ed. Maybe assuming that they're only teaching me how to drive by-the-book was wrong.
ghaff 2y ago
Basically it kept cutting out right around the speed limit (may have been 5mph over) on the highway. It wasn't "smart" just an absolute limit. (I think wherever I was had a relatively high speed limit for the time--maybe 70--so it was probably some standard governor setting which was sort of unreasonable for where I was, but a long time ago.)