Should They Limit The Speed Of Cars To The Maximum Allowed On The Road?
The question of whether car manufacturers should limit the speed of cars to the maximum allowed on the road is an open debate today. Many drivers wonder why the speed limit on motorways is 120 km / h when their cars can safely reach 160 km / h.
On the other hand, there are those who think that what is the point of a car reaching 200 km / h if you are not going to exceed 120 km / h on the road, or 130 km / h or 140 km / h at most. In this sense, there are different positions and arguments.
The actors on whom the maximum speed of cars depends
First, the maximum speed set for vehicles depends on three agents. First, there is the General Directorate of Traffic. This is the state body that is dedicated to supervising the correct operation of our roads.
On the other hand, there are the roads themselves, whose construction and maintenance depend on the Ministry of Development. The decisions of this body give rise to the topography of the roads, which will then be imposed a speed limit.
The third agent involved is the Ministry of Health, which is in charge of assisting those who have some kind of accident on the road. Of course, to the position of this organism against the increase of the speed limit of movement.
The different laws involved
The current traffic regulations were created in 1972. In this sense, it must be taken into account that it was created several decades ago and was dedicated to vehicles very different from those that are driven today. This law was founded on the oil crisis, while today, the consumption and emissions of current vehicles have been reduced considerably.
Since then, this law has gone through different changes. An example of this is the specific decrease in the speed limit on highways to 110 km / h during the government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. On the other hand, the Traffic Regulations were reformed in February 2013, when it was intended to raise the maximum speed from 120 km / h to 130 km / h.
The position of the DGT
The General Directorate of Traffic admits that 72.8% of fatalities occur on secondary roads, where the speed limit is less than on motorways. In addition, it highlights the fact that inadequate speed is the cause of less than 10% of accidents. On the other hand, distractions behind the wheel are the main cause, with around 42% of cases.
This can be an argument in favor of not limiting the factory speed to the limit of the roads, since imposing a maximum speed of 120 km / h for all vehicles may not mean a significant decrease in the number of accidents.
Drivers’ arguments
As with any debate, each person has a different idea when it comes to limiting the speed of cars. Some drivers do not want to put barriers to the speed possibilities with their vehicles, although they rarely exceed 130 km / h.
On the other hand, other drivers take a more cautious attitude towards highway speed, and see the factory speed limit of vehicles as a possibility to increase road safety.
It is also noteworthy how many accidents are caused by boredom of the driver who, when driving at a constant and relatively low speed on the road, ends up causing distractions. In addition, today many models have accessories such as automatic speed, which means an increase in monotony when driving.
Currently and due to the high performance of many vehicles today, driving at 120 km / h gives the impression of traveling at a slower speed. This may be due to the high degree of safety and control that current models produce, although 120 km / h is indeed a very high speed, which can lead to extremely serious accidents.
This is a quite complicated debate and that can only be solved from small regulations that are gradually implemented. In addition, we must bear in mind that each country has different speed limits, so limiting the speed of cars to a specific value can pose difficulties when introducing a vehicle in another country.
