A bill awaiting approval from Gov. Gavin Newsom would require vehicles to have a warning system to alert drivers when they are traveling more than 10 miles over the speed limit.
If the requirement is adopted, it will come into force from model year 2030 for all new vehicles, with the exception of emergency services, motorcycles, motorized bicycles, mopeds and passenger cars that are already equipped with GPS or a front-facing camera.
This would be the first law of its kind in the US and would use existing “intelligent speed adjustment” technology to try to reduce traffic deaths and injuries.
“We are in the midst of a traffic safety crisis,” Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) said on behalf of Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who authored the bill, at a recent hearing. “More than 4,000 Californians die each year in traffic crashes on our roads — a dramatic increase from pre-pandemic levels — and speeding is a significant factor in a third of these deaths.”
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The system would warn drivers with a visual and audible alert whenever they exceed the speed limit by 10 mph. The European Union already requires the technology on new vehicles and Toyota uses such a system in the US
Lowenthal said the technology would not physically limit a car’s speed.
Last year was the Recommended by the National Transportation Safety Board a requirement for speed limit warning technology in all new cars after an investigation into a crash in North Las Vegas that left nine people dead. Speeding was a major contributing factor.
“In a state where more than 1,000 people are killed each year by speeding drivers, this technology will absolutely help reduce traffic violence caused by speeding drivers in the same way that seat belts have helped save the lives of drivers and passengers,” said Damian Kevitt, executive director of Streets Are For Everyone. The nonprofit is one of the bill’s co-sponsors.
The legislation recently passed the Senate 26-9 and the Assembly 47-17, without support from Republican lawmakers who worried the technology could distract drivers and cause more problems.
“I already have things screaming at me in my car at any given time that I have my kids in it and the last thing I need is my car honking at me,” Rep. Joe Patterson (R-Rocklin) said during a hearing.
Others believed that the legislation restricted people’s freedom.
“This is just another step toward making California a nanny state,” said Assemblymember James Gallagher (R-Yuba City). “This bill is about control. It’s not about safety.”
According to Kevitt, this technology does not capture or share any data with law enforcement agencies.
“This technology and warning is comparable to a car warning you that you are quickly approaching a pedestrian and that you should slow down or that there is another car in your blind spot,” he said.
Democratic lawmakers Sen. Dave Min of Irvine and Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains of Bakersfield also voted against it.
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
