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The move comes as speed continues to fuel a roadway crisis that federal data links to more than 10,000 fatalities nationwide each year, prompting several other states to consider similar interventions. Since Virginia launched its pilot in July, roughly 100 speed-limiting devices have been installed in vehicles across the state, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. Most participants were charged with or convicted of reckless driving, frequently for clocking speeds topping 100 mph. A faulty reading caused a device to abruptly restrict a vehicle to 35 mph while cruising on a highway, forcing the driver onto the shoulder, according to one motorist’s attorney.
Another user reported that while driving through an intersection, their device mistakenly locked onto the lower speed limit of an adjacent cross street.
Drivers weaving through highway traffic at high speeds – often referred to by state officials as “super speeders” – may soon find their gas pedals physically resisting them. The big game-changer is that now all the roads are mapped for what their speed limits are,” said Amy Cohen, president of the advocacy group Families for Safe Streets. State authorities and equipment manufacturers confirmed that these errors stem from “GPS drift”, a glitch where navigation hardware misidentifies a vehicle as traveling on a nearby frontage road or side street.
Virginia is pushing a first-in-the-nation enforcement initiative that uses GPS technology to cap how fast repeat offenders can drive. The devices, officially known as Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA), operate much like the ignition-interlock systems long mandated for drunken drivers. ISA systems focus strictly on keeping dangerous driving habits in check While alcohol interlocks require a clean breathalyzer test before an engine can turn over. Agreeing to have the device installed allows offenders to keep driving rather than face an outright driver’s license suspension. “We are talking about a small subset of drivers who are disproportionately causing harm on our roadways, and we finally have a tool that works. The technology pairs real-time satellite positioning with comprehensive digital mapping to regulate vehicle velocity. The onboard system uses GPS to determine exactly where the car is traveling. It then compares the vehicle’s location against an internal map database of posted legal speed limits. If a motorist hits the gas pedal in an attempt to exceed the legal limit, the device restricts the vehicle from going faster. Limited speed overrides remain built into the system, allowing drivers extra throttle for emergency maneuvers or highway merging. The rollout, however, has encountered several initial technical hurdles. Officials stated that an update addressing the problem will be deployed shortly. Enforcement rules around the equipment remain strict. State officials noted that one participant attempted to tamper with the unit, an act that carries potential criminal charges. That individual subsequently complied with program mandates and has since exited the initiative. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.