California drivers face a new vehicle law aimed at cracking down on speeding. Cars will be able to detect when you’re speeding 10 mph over the limit and will attempt to make you slow down. However, the plan doesn’t sound very effective. 

California tries to stop drivers from speeding 10 mph over the limit 

Earlier in the year, state legislative chambers passed the California Senate “SB-961 Vehicles: Safety Equipment Bill. It’s now the law but it won’t go into effect until 2030. 

Basically, it requires all new cars with a front-facing camera or HPAS guidance system to provide a warning if drivers speed at 10 mph over the speed limit. 

So, if you go 10 or more over the limit, the system might beep at you. It won’t take any aggressive measures such as automatically reducing your speed. Also, this system must be able to be disengaged by the manufacturer or driver. 

In a few BMW models with a head-up display, the vehicle speed flashes yellow or red based on how much drivers speed over the limit. This is less aggressive than a beep and it’s honestly easy to ignore. 

A few years ago, Mazda SUVs seemed to be annoying. Drivers found that the beeps from the safety system were brashand loud. As a result, they easily turned the system off. 

In my humble opinion, a beep will be easy to ignore. Those prone to speeding will probably turn it off and continue about their day. 

If the system isn’t turned off, drivers won’t be nagged by the system. It won’t notify you more than once. But the warning will include a sound and or haptics. 

However, it may cause a few drivers to slow down. Sometimes speeders don’t realize how fast they’re going, so the warning could help them remember to slow down. 

Alternative ideas include limiting the speed of vehicles in California. That would probably be more frustrating to drivers.