(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) California’s far-left legislature is proposing a requirement that all new cars begin beeping to alert drivers when they are more than 10 mph over the speed limit, ABC News reported.
The bill, which cleared in the state Senate Tuesday, would force all new cars sold in the state by 2032 to beep at drivers who go too fast.
That, by extension, would likely lead to all cars incorporating the obnoxious feature, which is also likely to raise red flags for privacy advocates due to its reliance on automatic GPS tracking.
A “passive intelligent speed assistance system” would use geolocation to determine the car’s speed relative to the posted speed limit.
It then would deploy a “visual and audio signal”—that is, a constant beep—to “alert” the driver if the speed limit exceeded what the GPS manufacturer had listed as the posted speed limit for that stretch of road.
However, the bill would not require California to maintain a list of updated speed limits, and it does not seem to account for the possibility of out-of-date GPS software.
According to the bill’s author, state Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat, his bill is supported by scientific studies and would make the world a safer place.
“Research has shown that this does have an impact in getting people to slow down, particularly since some people don’t realize how fast that their car is going,” said Wiener.
The speed tracking technology has been used in Europe for some time, as blue states continue use modern technology to crack down on petty lawbreaking while ignoring major crimes.
The vote passed in the state Senate by a 22-13 margin, and is scheduled for a vote in the state Assembly on Aug. 31.
Republican state Sen. Brian Dahle said he opposed it because sometimes people simply must drive faster than the speed limit, as is the case in emergencies.
“It’s just a nanny state that we’re causing here,” he argued.
California often prides itself on the fact that its regulations have an impact that extends far beyond the state.
The state has engaged in similar machinations with its green energy vehicle policies. In 2022, for example, the state passed a law dictating that no gas powered vehicles would be sold there after 2035.
It also has imposed notoriously high emissions standards on vehicles—and even trains.
