A recent survey conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) revealed that over 60% of drivers in the United States would approve of their vehicles issuing audible and visual warnings when they surpass the posted speed limit. The study, which polled 1,802 drivers, aimed to gauge public sentiment regarding intelligent speed assistance systems (ISA).
The significance of such systems lies in the persistent role of speeding in U.S. traffic fatalities, accounting for more than a quarter of such incidents. In 2022 alone, this translated to over 12,000 deaths, according to the report. Despite these grim statistics, approximately half of the surveyed drivers admitted to exceeding the speed limit by at least 15 mph within the past month, citing data from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.
In context, the European Union is set to mandate ISA systems in all new vehicles starting next month. These systems utilize speed sign-recognition video cameras and/or GPS-linked speed limit data to inform drivers of the current speed limit and alert them if they surpass it, as outlined by the European Transport Safety Council.
IIHS senior research scientist Ian Reagan highlighted the potential of existing technologies to curb speeding significantly, thus reducing the need for speeding tickets. However, he expressed concern over the prevalence of features like adaptive cruise control and partial automation systems that permit drivers to maintain speeds as high as 90 mph.
Breaking down the survey findings, over 80% of respondents indicated a desire for a feature displaying the current speed limit, while over 70% favored the inclusion of an unobtrusive tone alerting them to speed limit changes. Additionally, around half of the participants expressed willingness to embrace vehicle technologies that either make the accelerator pedal harder to press or automatically restrict speed.
