SAN FRANCISCO – New cars sold in California will not have to warn speeders after Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a proposal Saturday that would have required them to be equipped with warning systems – a proposal that quickly became fodder for conservative news media .
Newsom said in a veto message that vehicle safety standards are already regulated at the federal level and that “adding California-specific requirements would create a patchwork of regulations that undermines this long-standing federal framework.” He added that the measure would disrupt the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s ongoing efforts to evaluate speed-assist systems.
State Sen. Scott Wiener’s SB 961 would have mandated visual and audio warning signals for speeding in all new vehicles by 2030. The systems beep and flash when drivers are driving more than 10 mph (16 km/h) above the speed limit.
Wiener, a Democrat from San Francisco, argued that the bill would help California combat a sharp increase in pedestrian fatalities over the past decade.
His original proposal would have called for new cars to be equipped with “speed limiters” – devices that physically prevent drivers from speeding by limiting power or air intake to the engine. He removed that provision after hearing concerns from fellow lawmakers.
Newsom said at the time that he worried that Republicans could weaponize speed limiters in an election year. The bill was ridiculed by Republican commentators as an example of California’s “nanny state.”
Automakers and dealers opposed the bill even after it was scaled back, arguing that better enforcement of traffic laws would be a less burdensome way to prevent car accidents.
California is said to have been the first state to require speed warning devices in cars. Other countries, as well as the European Union, have already mandated various forms of speed warning technology.
