A bill awaiting approval by Gov. Gavin Newsom would require vehicles to include a warning system to alert drivers whenever they exceed the speed limit by more than 10 miles.
If approved, the requirement would take effect in the 2030 model year for all new vehicles, with exceptions for emergency vehicles, motorcycles, motorized bicycles, mopeds and passenger vehicles already equipped with a GPS or front-facing camera.
This would be the first such law in the United States and would build on existing “intelligent speed adaptation” technology to try to reduce traffic deaths and injuries.
“We are in a traffic safety crisis,” Assemblyman 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 major factor in one-third of these deaths.”
The system would alert drivers with a visual and audible signal whenever they exceeded the speed limit by 10 mph. The European Union already demands Technology in new vehicles and Toyota uses such a system in the US.
The technology would not physically limit a car's speed, Lowenthal said.
Last year, the The National Transportation Safety Board recommended The requirement that all new vehicles have speed limit warning technology follows an investigation into a crash in North Las Vegas that left nine people dead. Speeding was a leading cause.
“In a state where more than 1,000 people are killed each year by speeding drivers, this technology will undoubtedly help reduce road rage caused by speeding drivers, much in the same way 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 state Senate 26-9 and the Assembly 47-17 without support from Republican lawmakers, who expressed concerns that the technology could distract drivers and create more problems.
“I already have things yelled at me in my car all the time when I have my kids in there and the last thing I need is my car honking at me,” Assemblyman Joe Patterson (R-Rocklin) said at a hearing.
Others argued that the legislation constituted a restriction on people's freedom.
“This is another step toward turning California into a paternalistic state,” said Assemblyman James Gallagher (R-Yuba City). “This bill is about control, not security.”
The technology will not record data or share it with authorities, Kevitt said.
“This technology and alert is similar to when a car warns you that you are rapidly approaching a pedestrian and should slow down or that there is another car in your blind spot,” he said.
Democratic lawmakers Sen. Dave Min of Irvine and Assemblyman Jasmeet Bains of Bakersfield also voted against the bill.
