A California state senator has introduced a bill calling for the use of speed limiters to prevent cars from traveling more than 10 miles per hour over the posted speed limit.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the bill, introduced Wednesday by Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco, would make California the first state to mandate speed monitors. It proposes speed controllers for all vehicles built or sold in California beginning with the 2027 model year.
Audi e-tron, on the Golden Gate Bridge
The measure is seen as a way to reduce traffic fatalities, which have risen both in San Francisco and nationwide during the pandemic, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. According to the National Safety Council, speed is a factor in about a third of traffic fatalities nationwide.
Certain emergency vehicles, including ambulances and fire trucks, would be exempt from the speed governor requirement. The California Highway Patrol would be able to disable speed limiters on its vehicles at its discretion “provided the use of the vehicle is reasonable and would not pose a risk to public safety,” according to a bill cited by the Chronicle.
Marengo Charging Plaza, Pasadena, California
The bill also requires trucks weighing 10,000 pounds or more that are built, sold or registered in California to be equipped with side underride guards, intended to prevent people and vehicles from being swept under the vehicles during a crash.
A similar bill was proposed in the New York State Legislature in 2022 but failed to gain traction. State lawmakers again proposed mandatory speed limiters last year, but this time only for drivers with multiple speed limit violations. Meanwhile, Volvo has been installing speed limiters on every new car since 2020, but with a speed limit of 180 km/h.