How speeding technology is letting drivers down

The rise of vehicle technology is meant to make our lives easier but this feature in most cars is just plain dangerous.

COMMENT: It’s a sign of the times – technology isn’t always as helpful as it should be.

Testing new cars every day is an immense privilege and an occasional frustration – particularly when tech goes wrong.

Speed sign recognition systems are one of the most annoying features in new cars.

Intended to help drivers stay safe by staying under the limit, the tech uses cameras to watch for speed signs, then displays the prevailing limit on the dashboard for drivers to see.

A glitch in the system suggests the speed limit in Sydney is 120km/h. Photo: Google Maps

Many also sound a warning alarm if you creep over the speed limit, and some will automatically adopt the correct limit.

This can be really handy on roads with regular speed limit changes, such as the Great Western Highway over the Blue Mountains in NSW.

A car that automatically reduces its speed from 80km/h to 60km/h is handy in the right circumstances.

But a car that spots an oversized street number on a roadside business, then increases its speed to 120km/h in a 60 zone? That’s less handy.

And I’ve experienced exactly that on more than a few occasions, thanks to a circular street sign many cars mistake for a speed limit sign.

A street number in Sydney is confusing speed systems in new cars. Photo: Google Maps

This particular sign is on Euston Road in Alexandria, in Sydney’s South.

There may be similar ones near you.

I’ve had cars attempt to reduce their speed to 40kmh when following a school bus – not a great feature if you’re on a multi-lane highway travelling at double that speed.

In fact, scenarios like that are just plain dangerous.

The carpark at my office has a 5km/h speed limit sign, which is incredibly frustrating when you leave work and might not see higher speed limit signs for another 10 minutes.

That’s 10 minutes of chimes, beeps, bongs and the occasional verbal remonstration from new cars.

A circled street number in Sydney is confusing speed systems in new cars. Photo: Google Maps

Spoken alerts are the worst.

A polite “ding” similar to the musical tone of an elevator’s arrival feels like a friendly reminder to stay safe on the road.

But a loud voice declaring that “you are over the speed limit” feels like a moral judgement from a nagging back seat driver.

Worse still, the features are intended to be difficult to turn off.

Car makers aren’t allowed to put a simple button in the dash to turn off stuff like lane departure warning, driver attention monitoring or speed sign recognition features – there has to be a complex process.

It can be about as tricky as pairing a new Bluetooth device to your phone.

And you have to do it every time you start the car.

If that doesn’t sound frustrating enough, there is worse to come thanks to European regulators.

The EU has mandated that future cars should have physical feedback to accompany warning chimes. That will take the form of throttle pedals with haptic feedback – the accelerator might shake or pulse if you exceed the speed limit.

Speed limits in car parks can frustrate drivers long after they leave. Picture: Damian Shaw

The next step is to prevent cars from exceeding the speed limit altogether – something the overseas regulators already plan to introduce.

Imagine how frustrating that could be?

A car that won’t let you exceed 5km/h until it sees a sign for 50km/h or more?

I’d switch to reviewing bicycles.

Originally published as How speeding technology is letting drivers down