The Port of Richmond in San Francisco, California, is seen with new vehicles at its parking lot on June 8, 2023. A survey by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) found that over 60% of drivers in the United States would approve of their vehicle notifying them audibly and visually if they exceeded the speed limit.
The IIHS conducted a survey with 1,802 drivers to understand their perceptions of intelligent speed assistance systems (ISA). Over-speeding plays a significant role in more than a quarter of traffic fatalities in the U.S., resulting in over 12,000 deaths in 2022. Despite this, around half of drivers confessed to driving at least 15 mph over the speed limit within the last month, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
Starting next month, all new vehicles sold in Europe must have ISA systems installed as per EU regulations. These systems use advanced technology such as speed sign recognition video cameras and GPS-linked speed limit data to inform drivers about current speed limits and alert them if they are exceeded. This has been announced by the European Transport Safety Council.
Senior research scientist Ian Reagan from IIHS commented on how current technologies can prevent speeding entirely and eliminate speeding tickets. However, he pointed out that advancements like adaptive cruise control and partial automation systems allow drivers to maintain high speeds, such as up to 90 mph.
Among those surveyed by IIHS, more than 80% expressed interest in having a feature that displays the current speed limit while over 70% agreed on the need for an unobtrusive tone when the speed limit changes. Approximately half were open to vehicle technology that automatically enforces speed restrictions or makes it harder to press down on accelerator pedal.
