EU wants accelerator pedals that don’t accelerate

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Wed 7 Oct 2020 22:51
EU wants accelerator pedals that don’t accelerate - Metropolis.
As above, madness!

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54454738

“The EU is proposing kit that renders the accelerator pedal temporarily unresponsive when the speed limit is reached. The driver has to push hard on the pedal to de-activate the system and deliberately break the limit. Car makers suggest the cheaper option of a bleeping light on the dashboard.
The issue will be debated at a meeting of EU technical experts on Thursday. Whichever system is chosen could apply in the UK, despite Brexit.”
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Thu 8 Oct 2020 01:42
EU wants accelerator pedals that don’t accelerate - Terry W

The EU post Brexit cannot compel the UK to do anything - unless we agree.

We would have to embed the technology in cars that UK exports to EU and I assume EU imports may need the system deactivated. As VW, Peugeot etc have worked out how to put a steering wheel on the wrong side I don't think this is technically demanding.

Perhaps it is just a scare story being spread to persuade people that the EU are ogres, seeking to diminish our freedom to drive as fast as we foolishly want.

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Thu 8 Oct 2020 09:08
EU wants accelerator pedals that don’t accelerate - craig-pd130

Well, now that we've taken back control of our laws, ALL of our Great British car manufacturers can ignore this facile nanny-state ruling by the hated unelected EU bureaucrats and produce vehicles that are subservient to the driver. I'm sure Austin, Morris, Wolsely, Hillman, Humber, Singer, Rover etc will all refuse to implement such idiocy in their vehicles.

But seriously, given the rate at which smart motorways and new speed cameras are still being rolled out across the UK (such as the twin-head RedSpeed devices) exceeding the speed limit for any reason and at any time is unwise for any driver who cares about keeping a clean license.

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Thu 8 Oct 2020 09:36
EU wants accelerator pedals that don’t accelerate - misar

Most modern cars use drive by wire so the limiter would almost certainly be implemented electronically making it easy to apply or not depending on regulations. In fact my Mazda already has something like this (Intelligent Speed Assistance) if the driver chooses to use it so I assume other makes do as well.

There is also a constant head up display of speed beside the current limit which highlights the problem with the system. The limit is obtained from the sat nav and is hopelessly inaccurate even with a recent map update.

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Thu 8 Oct 2020 12:02
EU wants accelerator pedals that don’t accelerate - JonestHon

Speeding do happen on roads other than A or M designation.

I would sure like to see something is done about hooligans doing 60mph across our little town's high street in their modified Astra's or whatever.

The problem is far worse now than it was a decade ago. The issue is that even if you do report it, we do not have a local police force anymore, so it can take up to 15-20 minutes for the nearest plod to come and have a look, by that time the yobs have gone missing, just to reappear the next evening/morning/afternoon.

Edited by JonestHon on 08/10/2020 at 12:05

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Thu 8 Oct 2020 09:39
EU wants accelerator pedals that don’t accelerate - Andrew-T

Once the car knows what speed-limit it is in, the easiest mod would be to make the digital speedometer display flash. MINIs, for one model, show road-speed in numbers an inch high. Very little change needed. Disabling the accelerator could be very inconvenient - and I suppose something else to go wrong.

Edited by Andrew-T on 08/10/2020 at 09:41

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Thu 8 Oct 2020 11:13
EU wants accelerator pedals that don’t accelerate - Zippy123
As above, madness! www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54454738 “The EU is proposing kit that renders the accelerator pedal temporarily unresponsive when the speed limit is reached. The driver has to push hard on the pedal to de-activate the system and deliberately break the limit. Car makers suggest the cheaper option of a bleeping light on the dashboard. The issue will be debated at a meeting of EU technical experts on Thursday. Whichever system is chosen could apply in the UK, despite Brexit.”

What is madness is being a small island off one of the largest trading blocks in the world and choosing to be not a part of it by a slim margin and now having to abide by many of its rules but not being able to influence any of them!

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Thu 8 Oct 2020 12:14
EU wants accelerator pedals that don’t accelerate - madf
As above, madness! www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54454738 “The EU is proposing kit that renders the accelerator pedal temporarily unresponsive when the speed limit is reached. The driver has to push hard on the pedal to de-activate the system and deliberately break the limit. Car makers suggest the cheaper option of a bleeping light on the dashboard. The issue will be debated at a meeting of EU technical experts on Thursday. Whichever system is chosen could apply in the UK, despite Brexit.”

What is madness is being a small island off one of the largest trading blocks in the world and choosing to be not a part of it by a slim margin and now having to abide by many of its rules but not being able to influence any of them!

Please do not apply logic to this issue as it offends the illogical.

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Thu 8 Oct 2020 12:31
EU wants accelerator pedals that don’t accelerate - daveyjp

Merely an addition to the flashing speed warnings now on many vehicles.

However as no system (in car camera or GPS) is accurate at stating the speed limit of every road, it could only be an additional warning and not an actual speed restriction system.

I note Leeds Uni are mentioned. I've been involved in some of their transport study work for about 5 years and it is a good insight into where the world of driving is going.

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Thu 8 Oct 2020 12:38
EU wants accelerator pedals that don’t accelerate - _

I already have a front seat gadget that tells me when I am going too fast.

SWMBO now has the phone on her lap showing the speed and tells me to slow down.

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Thu 8 Oct 2020 14:03
EU wants accelerator pedals that don’t accelerate - craig-pd130

I already have a front seat gadget that tells me when I am going too fast.

SWMBO now has the phone on her lap showing the speed and tells me to slow down.

Heh, excellent :)

Edited by craig-pd130 on 08/10/2020 at 14:03

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Thu 8 Oct 2020 14:08
EU wants accelerator pedals that don’t accelerate - Zippy123

I already have a front seat gadget that tells me when I am going too fast.

SWMBO now has the phone on her lap showing the speed and tells me to slow down.

Heh, excellent :)

I'm still chuckling at ORB's comment over an hour later because it's soooo true (SWMBO) is looking at me wryly.

ORB needs his name changed to 'Orace.

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Thu 8 Oct 2020 14:26
EU wants accelerator pedals that don’t accelerate - Sofa Spud

Lorries and coaches have been fitted with speed limiters for years. Intelligent speed limiters that obey the limit for any particular stretch of road are an obvious spin-off from research into fully autonomous driving.

A lot of drivers who complain about speed limits and speed cameras say that having to check speed all the time is a distraction from safe driving. In all my nearly 50 years of driving I can't say I've ever found this to be a problem, it's part and parcel of driving and always has been. But if your car has am intelligent speed limiter that you can switch on and off, I reckon a lot of drivers would keep it switched on for most of the time.

As for the EU, we'll be begging them to let us back in within a few years - mark my words!

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Thu 8 Oct 2020 17:07
EU wants accelerator pedals that don’t accelerate - Andrew-T

As for the EU, we'll be begging them to let us back in within a few years - mark my words!

Spud - I think, and hope, you may be right. However it would not surprise me if the EU said they didn't want any cocky troublemakers back, ta very much.

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Thu 8 Oct 2020 17:42
EU wants accelerator pedals that don’t accelerate - bathtub tom

As for the EU, we'll be begging them to let us back in within a few years - mark my words!

Alternatively, the EU may have far fewer members in the future.

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Thu 8 Oct 2020 19:23
EU wants accelerator pedals that don’t accelerate - Ethan Edwards

As for the EU, we'll be begging them to let us back in within a few years - mark my words!

Hell will be hosting the Winter Olympics that year.

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Thu 8 Oct 2020 23:40
EU wants accelerator pedals that don’t accelerate - Bilboman

As proposed, I don't see a problem with the proposed device, given that the driver can override it by pressing hard on the pedal. The taps in my home have a detent allowing water out at a certain "top speed", which I can override by pressing harder on the tap. It undoubtedly helps reduce wasted water and I really don't see it as an infringement on my liberties.

What's proposed is a kind of kickdown for manual or automatic cars alike, when an extra burst of speed (legal or not) is wanted. If the limiter were only set to 70 mph, then I imagine objections would diminish, as no-one other than a highly trained emergency vehicle driver needs to drive at more than 70 mph, or am I missing something?

The addition of a large green warning light at the front and rear of the vehicle, complete with a loud quacking sound and an enormous jet of purple mist to alert other motorists and any passing police cars would, of course, be another matter.

Edited by Bilboman on 08/10/2020 at 23:41

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Fri 9 Oct 2020 14:05
EU wants accelerator pedals that don’t accelerate - Engineer Andy
As above, madness! www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54454738 “The EU is proposing kit that renders the accelerator pedal temporarily unresponsive when the speed limit is reached. The driver has to push hard on the pedal to de-activate the system and deliberately break the limit. Car makers suggest the cheaper option of a bleeping light on the dashboard. The issue will be debated at a meeting of EU technical experts on Thursday. Whichever system is chosen could apply in the UK, despite Brexit.”

Not a good idea at all - dangerous, especially if the system gets it wrong when you need the gas. One more Big Brother rule - as if we don't have enough of those at the moment.

Far better to have better driver training and enforcement of existing / better road laws.

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