Drivers in California May Have to Deal With Speed Limiters by 2027

A few weeks after the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) urged 17 automakers to equip all of their new vehicles with so-called “intelligent speed assistance technology,” California is heading in that same direction.

What we’re talking about here is a physical speed limiter and not just some kind of warning system.

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Introduced by Democratic Senator Scott Wiener, Bill SB 961 calls for "every passenger vehicle, motortruck, and bus manufactured or sold in the state" to be equipped with a speed-limiting device. Should it pass, the law would come into effect starting with MY2027 vehicles.

The device would "electronically limit the speed of the vehicle to prevent the driver from exceeding the speed limit by more than 10 miles per hour" (16 kmh/). All the time? Not exactly. The bill suggests that drivers could override the limiter momentarily, like for getting out of a tricky situation in traffic.

Emergency response vehicles including police cars, ambulances and fire trucks would obviously be exempt from the law. There might also be an exemption for non-emergency vehicles, but only when authorized by the Commissioner of the California Highway Patrol.

According to the California Office of Traffic Safety, one-third of all accidents in the state involved speeding in 2021.

Other jurisdictions are mulling similar measures. As CarBuzz reports, the State of New York also wants to mandate speed limiters in new vehicles. Meanwhile, New York City recently proposed to fit such devices to cars of repeat offenders, those who have received six or more tickets in a single year or received 11 points on their license within 18 months.