#SpeedLimit

Every new car has a limited top speed programmed in at the factory, but for most, it’s usually deep into triple-digit numbers that most people never see. A proposed bill in California could drastically change the way automakers limit vehicle speeds, as one state senator wants to keep vehicles traveling within 10 mph of the speed limit.

Editor’s Note: The following was originally written by Jim Walker for the National Motorists Association blog, and has been republished with permission from the NMA.

I have worked closely with the Michigan State Police for several years in their pursuit of correcting as many Michigan posted speed limits to the correct 85th percentile speed level as possible. Yes, we have a very enlightened state police administration that wants to see posted limits set for safety, not revenue.

I have testified before Michigan legislative committees in support of the State Police to help explain the science involved, helped to nominate the key officers for a Governor’s Traffic Safety Advisory Committee Award which they won in 2006, and helped the police find areas of state trunk line routes (numbered highways) which should be re-surveyed because the posted limits were set far below the normal speeds of traffic.