Why does the government allow car makers to sell cars that break the speed limit?

Question

if they stoped this would it save lives, and would it stop them making juice guzzellers

Answer 1

The speed limit is not the same everywhere.  They cannot easily design the car to go at the speed the limit where it is highest and not break the speed limit where it is lower.  It would have to read the signs or compare the GPS with a map of what the speed limit is where.

Answer 2

A car "guzzells" far more juice in town driving at under 30mph than it does on a motorway even at 100mph plus.

They'd also lose millions in tax revenue each year from speed cameras.

Answer 3

Because the cars are built for export all around the world.  Across the globe there are huge variations in speed llimits.  Germany, for example has an unlimited speed limit on autobahns.  If the government didnt allow car manufactuers to sell cars which were capable of breaking the speed limit, consumers wouldnt have as big  choice and would probably end up paying more for cars which had been especially made/adapted for the british market.

Answer 4

ive always pondered this thought myslef ,, after all, if the max road spee is 70mph,why build and sell cars the way exceed it ...

they put restrictors in motorcycles.. why not cars .....?

Answer 5

One, it is the freedom of choice, Two it is necassary to have more power at times, Just because your car or bike can do 100 mph it does not mean you have to, my car, a normal Ford Mondeo 2 ltr, can go I think 120 mph but I have never done it, as for ALL cars going at the exact same spead this would lead to more accidents as people would get bored sitting in the same place for hours on a motorway and they would loose concentration

Answer 6

have you ever been in a situation where you needed extra acceleration as on a very steep hill, if you done what you want you would have to limit the rpm's at a certain point. this sounds like a good idea until you actuall think about the problems that will arise. believe me you do not want this and you also do not want the government making all decisions for you . be careful what you wish for as you may get it.

Answer 7

Thats the top speed of a car.

Making the engine smaller would reduce top speed, and make the car work more to get to a higher speed.

Putting a bigger engine makes it easier, also the top speed is just there to show you the top possible speed of the engine.

Some cars can be converted to street racers too.

Answer 8

good god . power to pull a load. torque. then the need to control the power is speed. think of a train. without power it may never pull the load. leave the power on all the time and you lose control . as in speed kills . not horsepower....

Answer 9

Because we live in a free country, with freedom of choice.

You obviously don't like that idea...

Answer 10

The governments have no time to think of this. They could probably ban such cars to enter the cities. But actually this will put alot of burden on the car makers. They will have to have a separate model for every country and probably city since the limits could be different everywhere.

Answer 11

yeah i agree partially. i still think you should be able to have choice of make/model but they could electronically limit the speed not the power. i live in australia and own a 1996 ford ef futura that is electronically limited to 180km/h. max speed is 110km/h over here.

but i have dual fuel (petrol/lpg) and when i run it on lpg it bypasses the limiter.

the limiter works by cutting off the injectors when the speed reaches 180km/h.

another option would be to have a speed sender/sensor type arrangement. this would mean the senders would be located in the road where traditional signs are placed and the sensor/limiter would be in the car.

but there are people who would manage to disable these systems, i would be one of them.

Answer 12

Like Res says, just because we have a 60/70 national speed limit, it doesn't follow that every other country they sell that model to will. Plus what happens if you want to take your car abroad, where different limits apply?

Answer 13

Actually some car manufacturers and governments are working on this. You can still have your different car makes and any size engine V8, V6, the technology is already here and in 2012 some cars straight off the production line will have what you call speed limiters, just like you have rev limiters. The Australian government is already working with Holden to have this implemented.

It works just like a rev limiter, once you hit 110km/hr the vehicles ECU will stop the car from going any faster. As here in Australia the fastest you can travel on a freeway is 110km/hr. So something to look forward to and hope this answered your question.

So any car can be fitted with this technology after 2012!!

Answer 14

how bout those motorcycles that can hit 160mph outa the box

Answer 15

Yes, you are correct. The government should also control what you eat, what you drink, what you breath...They should close all mountains and lakes and rivers to the public. They should lock you in a padded room with a computer and a keyboard and provide you with Ultra purified water and food. They should provide you with a nurse to give you a shot when you get sick.

Then we would be safe from the world... OH no what if an asteroid hits or Yellowstone blows or...

Just be a good democrat and drink your koolade and the government will take care of you.

Answer 16

Speed sells vehicles and that makes money for the vehicle manufacturers and that is the bottom line.

Answer 17

Who, in all honesty would buy a car that could only do 70mph?

Speed sells.

A car is only as dangerous (or safe) as the driver

Answer 18

Probably becuase they get more money out of it, Money for buying a car and Money from breaking speed

Answer 19

SPEED DOESN'T KILL!!! The sudden stop does. Speed can be used responsibly with good judgement, there is nothing wrong with doing over 100 MPH on a wide open road with no traffic, good visibility and good conditions. Its when idiots start driving to fast in bad conditions with lots of traffic thats accidents happen and spoil it for everyone!

Answer 20

After reading all the answers, I wonder why the government is involved at all.

The commerical market place is what drives the need for cars that can go fast.

The government should reduce to focus on the items contained in the constitution: provide for the common defense, etc.

Our government should not regulate the speed that cars are capable of.  The should regulate the highway speed.  They should regulate this with more aggression.  

I think we should have a minimum speed limit of 90 mph.  This way every accident would be wipe out all the cars,  requiring replacement cars.  This would help our economy.  Also we would use more oil and there by help the muslims.

So really speeding is a help to our economy and the Arabs.

Maybe a 100 mph minimal speed limit.

Answer 21

here, here. nicely put.

but on the other hand, we have a 1.0 litre corsa and that still manages to 90mph only just, so wouldn't really work, do you really think if they where making cars that only did a maximum of 40mph we would get any where we would be stuck in a traffic jam for the rest of our lives.

agree & disagree.

Answer 22

I agree with what was mentioned above, and besides like in all things it's called FREE WILL just cause your car can go faster it's a choice to do it!!!  Risk versus Consequence...

Guy

Good Question