Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have required new cars to beep at drivers if they exceeded the speed limit by at least 10 mph. The bill aimed to reduce traffic deaths by encouraging drivers to slow down. California would have been the first state to implement such a requirement, starting in 2030. However, Newsom cited federal laws governing vehicle safety standards and the ongoing federal assessments of intelligent speed assistance systems as reasons for his veto, stating that state-level mandates could disrupt these assessments.
Opponents of the bill, including automotive groups and the state Chamber of Commerce, argued that such regulations should be decided at the federal level. They also raised concerns about the potential increase in car prices and driver distraction. If the bill had been passed, all new cars sold in the U.S. would have likely been impacted due to the size of the California market. The state has a history of influencing national and international policies, such as setting its own emission standards for cars and announcing a future ban on the sale of new gas-powered vehicles.
Democratic state Senator Scott Wiener, who sponsored the bill, expressed disappointment at the veto, calling it a setback for street safety. The proposed speeding alert technology, known as intelligent speed assistance, uses GPS to compare a vehicle’s speed with posted limits and emits a visual and audio alert if the car exceeds the limit by at least 10 mph. While the technology has been used in the U.S. and Europe for years, the European Union will mandate it for all new cars starting in July. Manufacturers like Ford, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Nissan have already offered some form of speed limiters in their models sold in America.
The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration reported that 10% of car crashes reported to police in 2021 were related to speeding, with California having the second-highest percentage of speeding-related traffic fatalities in the country. The NTSB recommended that all new cars alert drivers when they exceed the speed limit, following a tragic crash in January 2022 where a speeding driver ran a red light at over 100 mph, resulting in the deaths of nine people. While the proposal aimed to address speeding-related accidents and fatalities, Newsom’s veto indicates a reluctance to impose state-level requirements that could disrupt federal assessments and standards. Supporters of the bill view the veto as a missed opportunity for California to lead in addressing the crisis of speeding-related accidents on its roadways.
