If it’s modern, your car either allows you to connect your smartphone to use its navigation apps, or you might have a premium model with integrated satellite navigation. In either case, your vehicle will show you what road you’re on by name and route number, which intersections you’re near, and—for consideration today—the legal speed limit on that particular stretch of road.
For, um, consideration today: Shouldn’t the smart app simply govern your speed to enforce the speed limit? Seems easy enough without requiring a particularly smart car of the type Elon Musk promised to build next year a decade ago. But all that’s needed in this case is for the car to restrict your top speed to the posted limit. Why all this rigamarole where drivers play constant games with the posted speeds, trying to see what they can get away with? And that applies to me, too. In light traffic and on a familiar route, I don’t have time for the posted speed and I go faster. Someone should make me behave myself. Shouldn’t it be something for all our smart technology to do? To make us behave ourselves?
The world feels like too many people are living their lives without adult supervision these days, running with scissors and driving distracted and under the influence of psychological tendencies toward obnoxiousness—all because we like to think we’re smarter than the next guy, especially the fuzz. We’ll show ‘em what professional driving looks like! As we know, we all think we’re above-average drivers, and probably that we’re all above average in looks and smarts. Yet we keep electing idiots to rule us. Maybe if we unfurled a true nanny state to make us behave, we’d start giving our democratic choices more serious consideration.
Plus, it stopped snowing and I got my driveway shoveled. But I can’t afford to go out and drive recklessly. I can only cerebrate recklessly. For today at least...
I'm OK with a governor so long as it's set to 80. I'm pretty sure semis are monitored, either with a governor or satellite. Those monsters should be required to stay close to the speed limit. Today is a good day! The temp is a sunny, balmy 15 and I was able to walk my dogs, the first time since Saturday. Now I'm going snow shoeing, that will be my exercise for the day.
I can appreciate some governors on speed, but it would make passing more difficult, plus speed limits are based on certain conditions. When the roads are snowy, going below the speed limit is often best. On a country road with no one in sight for miles, opening it up a bit isn't a big deal.
For some reason a Jim Croce lyric comes to mind "One day I looked in my review mirror/ coming on from behind/was a Gawgian state policeman/ and a hundred dollar fine/He looked me in the eye as he's writin' me up, asking/driver, you been blind?/95 was the route you was on/it was not the speed limit sign".