Ford’s New Cars Will Not Let You Break The Speed Limit

Ford is launching a new system for detecting speed limits, automatically slowing down the car to avoid accidents or speed tickets.

The European S-MAX will be the first to be fitted with the ‘Intelligent Speed Limiter’, essentially a mounted camera capable of scanning for speed signs on the road.

Instead of halting the speed completely, the Ford system will limit the car’s velocity by adjusting the amount of fuel sent to the engine. This should slow the vehicle rather than chunking it down to the speed limit, avoiding a lot of potential accidents from breaking too fast.

It is not the first car to add autonomous speed limiters, but Ford claims its own system is the most intelligent. With speed reductions in the UK and US started to drop urban speeds to 20mph, it is necessary to have these limiters in place.

There is a few ways to turn the limiter off, including pressing the button to shutdown the system. Drivers can also slam down on the acceleration in case of emergency, to override the system.

Pedestrian detection and collision warnings will also be available on the S-MAX for an additional price. These are all safety features shown off by BMW and Ford at CES 2015.

Automation is starting to become a necessary tool for safety in the automotive world, with Tesla Motors recently launching a semi self-driving car update on the Model S.

While some see this as the next generation of automotive, others see it as the end of human driving. Even Tesla CEO Elon Musk sees an end to human driving, once these autonomous features become standardised.