Cruise control: Totally baked idea. But all the cruise controls that I've seen have a minimum speed at which they're usable, for instance the cruise in my Ford Taurus will not work below 45mph.

In my town, all of the school zones are speed limited at 20mph. Some of these zones are quite long and it's easy to find yourself edging over the limit, usually right in front of a cop. This seems to be the normal set up in other areas, although the speed limit may vary.

I suggest a secondary, programmable cruise control button for use in your local school zones. The vehicle owner would be able to set or calibrate the correct speed, which would be stored in a memory device for future use (unlike regular cruise control which forgets the speed each time you turn it off), and with a simple push of the "School Zone" button, the vehicle is automatically limited to the preset speed. Once out of the zone, another push of the button and the car is back to "normal" and away you go!
-- Noexit, Nov 17 2006

Speed limit sensors Speed_20Limit_20Sensors
[angel, Nov 21 2006]

"spy device will cut drivers’ speed by satellite" http://www.timesonl...087-1678707,00.html
[angel, Nov 21 2006]

and 15 metres around an ice-cream van.
-- po, Nov 17 2006


I like the idea of multiple cruise control presets for different speed limits. But school zones could also emit a low power radio signal that automatically causes the cruise control to slow down to a certain speed.
-- jmvw, Nov 17 2006


Yes.
-- jtp, Nov 17 2006


[21] surely ambulances could be programmed to ignore the limiter?
-- jtp, Nov 18 2006


[+]
-- Dub, Nov 18 2006


I didn't think ambulances have cruise control.
-- BJS, Nov 18 2006


I agree with boysparks - cruise control sets your minimum speed - you can still accelerate above it. What we need is a system that sets your maximum speed - no matter how hard you push the pedal, she won't go any faster.
-- darkclown, Nov 19 2006


darkclown: What we need is a system that sets your maximum speed

This already exists, kind of, as "governors". Not exactly the same idea in this context. I considered a device to actually limit the maximum speed while in a school zone, but I thought there may be emergency situations where sudden acceleration might be necessary. And, such a device might be harder by the vehicle operator.
-- Noexit, Nov 20 2006


I like it. But it should be optional for the driver.
-- Jscotty, Nov 21 2006


//What we need is a system that sets your maximum speed //

(linky)
-- angel, Nov 21 2006



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