The Federal Government Is Requesting Speed Reduction in All New Vehicles

There are speed limits placed on highways, interstates, and roadways throughout the country. The goal of these speed limits is to encourage drivers to drive under a certain speed to prevent accidents from occurring.

Most drivers know this, but still make the careless and reckless decision to drive over the speed limits. This is one of the main reasons why the federal government is requesting that all new cars be equipped with speed reduction technology in the hopes of reducing car accidents.

An article from TechCrunch explains that a federal government agency, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), is pushing for vehicle manufacturers to equip all new motor vehicles with  speed reduction technology, believing that it can improve safety and lead to less catastrophic and deadly accidents. To back up their stance, the agency cited the driver of a Dodge Challenger who was driving at more than 100 mph while intoxicated; he failed to stop at a stop light at an intersection and crashed into a minivan, killing himself and six others.

The NTSB is frustrated over these accidents and how many people are not taking the most dangerous driving behavior seriously. Jennifer Homendy, the Chair for NTSB, spoke out, saying, “this crash is the latest in a long line of tragedies we’ve investigated where speeding and impairment led to catastrophe, but it doesn’t have to be this way.” The agency explains that states are not developing sufficient solutions to fix this problem, and as a result, many people are becoming severely injured or killed.

While the NTSB believes that this is a potential solution that should be seriously considered, it is not the agency that is in charge of developing new regulations to reduce speeding. Instead, it is the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) that oversees these types of laws and regulations. Therefore, the NTSB is asking NHTSA to evaluate the potential of their idea, which NHTSA acknowledged they will be doing in the near future.

If accepted and implemented, how would the speed reduction technology work?

According to the TechCrunch article, the NTSB is proposing that every vehicle be equipped with intelligent speed-assist (ISA) technology. Per NHTSA, there are multiple systems that could be used:

Systems may:

• Provide information only (display the speed limit and changes);
• Provide visual or audible alerts when the speed limit is exceeded, but the driver can decide how to react (termed open system);
• Provide accelerator resistance to make speeding more difficult, but still possible (termed half-open). This system is like cruise control, except the speed limit (not the driver) determines when to engage speed resistance. Drivers may be able to turn off the system with a switch; and
• Automatically prevent speeding above the speed limit (mandatory speed compliance).

If the driver begins going over the speed limit, the goal would be for the ISA technology to give a warning, which would be some type of alert or sound letting them know that they are exceeding the posted speed limit. The idea is that the driver would immediately slow down after hearing this warning. Whether more advanced systems are put in place later is up for debate.

How often does speeding occur in Tulsa, OK?

Speeding is a common problem in Oklahoma. In fact, in 2020, there were almost 8,000 accidents involving at least one driver operating over the speed limit. Of those accidents, close to 200 people died, and around 1,400 people were injured. This means that speeding was a huge factor in almost all Oklahoma accidents in 2020.

In 2021, FOX23 News ran a report on how serious this issue is in Tulsa specifically. Lt. Stephen Florea, who has worked for the Tulsa Police Department for more than two decades, explained how speeding has been taking over the streets of Tulsa. He believed that while people were returning back to the office and their daily lives since the pandemic, their speeding habits from the pandemic stuck around.

The article stated that the number of traffic fatalities in Tulsa more than doubled from 2019 (30) to 2021 (61). FOX23, participated in a ride along with the police department’s Motorcycle Unit to observe the problem, and within one hour of the ride along, they saw close to 30 citations handed out for speeding in an area of north Tulsa. The Motorcycle Unit told Fox that their officers can hand out up to 1,000 citations within one week.

For the record, those numbers don’t seem to be abating in 2024, either. News on 6 reports:

TPD’s northside traffic unit was at Highway 169 near 36th Street North Wednesday [January 3, 2024] to crack down on dangerous drivers, and officers ticketed 41 people for speeding from noon to 2 p.m., including one person going 107 miles per hour. Plus, five people were ticketed for not having insurance, three were driving with a suspended license or didn’t have one, two weren’t wearing seatbelts, and one person had an expired tag.

Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin told the news station that there were 69 deaths caused by speeding in Tulsa in 2021 – a new record.

Why is speeding so dangerous?

There are many reasons why speeding is so dangerous, such as:

• Reduced time to react to certain situations or traffic changes.
• Loss of control of their vehicles.
• Rollover accidents.
• Reduced protection of seat belts and air bags.
• Increased chances of suffering catastrophic and fatal injuries.

If you have recently been involved in a speed-related accident, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the Tulsa car accident attorneys at Biby Law Firm. Our team is dedicated to providing you with compassion, understanding, respect, and empathy through this hard and challenging time. While you focus on recovering from your injuries, we will use our experience and skills to stand up and fight for the compensation you deserve to restore your life. Our lawyers always have our clients’ best interests in mind, and we will do everything we can to ensure that the legal process remains as smooth and stress-free as possible for you. If you are ready to begin discussing an issue you or a loved one is going through, call our office or submit our contact form to schedule your free consultation today.