Speed Limiter Trials
Discussion
Not sure if this is old news but...
Speed on trial
Journalists from the local and national media came to the University of Leeds yesterday to try out specially adapted cars which automatically keep to the speed limit. Trials are due to begin in Leeds over the next few weeks to look at driver behaviour in the cars, as part of a research project at the institute for transport studies.
Twenty individuals from the city, recruited through the local papers and the University intranet, are to use the specially adapted cars for six months, with their driving patterns logged by computer. Participants have been picked from a range of backgrounds, some with a history of speeding. They will drive part of the time with the speed limiter on, and partly with it off, to compare their driving behaviour.
Lead researcher, professor of transport safety, Oliver Carsten, said: "We believe this kind of technology can contribute to road safety. If all drivers kept to the speed limit, deaths on the road would fall by 37 percent, that's over 1,200 each year. The speed limit is a law like any other, put in place to ensure people's safety, and it should be adhered to. This is one way to help people know what the limit is, and keep to it if they choose."
The cars are fitted with GPS to tell them when they are in a speed limit zone, and the throttle is automatically restricted so the limit can't be exceeded. A display on the dashboard warns the drivers of the speed restrictions in force, and if they try go faster, a vibration in the accelerator pedal tells them they've reached the limit. They can opt out at any time using a manual override button on the steering wheel.
Invited journalists drove the cars on a short route round Leeds crossing various speed limit changes. Most expected to dislike the speed limiters, but were surprised at how much they enjoyed the experience. The research project was featured on BBC news at one and six o'clock, on BBC News 24, on local news (ITV Calendar and BBC Look North) and on the ABC News network. Articles appeared today in the Guardian, Telegraph, Times and Yorkshire Post.
29 May 2003
Note its gone up to 37%
at this rate it will be over 100% soon
Speed on trial
Journalists from the local and national media came to the University of Leeds yesterday to try out specially adapted cars which automatically keep to the speed limit. Trials are due to begin in Leeds over the next few weeks to look at driver behaviour in the cars, as part of a research project at the institute for transport studies.
Twenty individuals from the city, recruited through the local papers and the University intranet, are to use the specially adapted cars for six months, with their driving patterns logged by computer. Participants have been picked from a range of backgrounds, some with a history of speeding. They will drive part of the time with the speed limiter on, and partly with it off, to compare their driving behaviour.
Lead researcher, professor of transport safety, Oliver Carsten, said: "We believe this kind of technology can contribute to road safety. If all drivers kept to the speed limit, deaths on the road would fall by 37 percent, that's over 1,200 each year. The speed limit is a law like any other, put in place to ensure people's safety, and it should be adhered to. This is one way to help people know what the limit is, and keep to it if they choose."
The cars are fitted with GPS to tell them when they are in a speed limit zone, and the throttle is automatically restricted so the limit can't be exceeded. A display on the dashboard warns the drivers of the speed restrictions in force, and if they try go faster, a vibration in the accelerator pedal tells them they've reached the limit. They can opt out at any time using a manual override button on the steering wheel.
Invited journalists drove the cars on a short route round Leeds crossing various speed limit changes. Most expected to dislike the speed limiters, but were surprised at how much they enjoyed the experience. The research project was featured on BBC news at one and six o'clock, on BBC News 24, on local news (ITV Calendar and BBC Look North) and on the ABC News network. Articles appeared today in the Guardian, Telegraph, Times and Yorkshire Post.
29 May 2003
Note its gone up to 37%
at this rate it will be over 100% soon
.
professor of transport safety, Oliver Carsten, said: "......deaths on the road would fall by 37 percent, that's over 1,200 each year"
A sad day when academics resort to spin (= lying in English )and soundbite instead of peer-reviewed conclusions. Maybe he was misquoted. Maybe professor of transport safety is not a propoer chair but a politically provided one
Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff