Speed limiter standards

What is the fastest speed you have ever done on the expressway? One hundred; 130; or maybe 180? As you ponder over this question, I recall a caller who during one of my numerous interactive television programmes in Abuja to discuss the dangers of excessive speeding, observed that the reason motorists over speed is because the maximum speed limit of 100 km per hour approved by the National Road Traffic Regulations (NRTR), is unrealistic. In his view, since most cars come with the provision to drive as fast as 220-280 km per hour, there should be a change in the approved speed limit from 100 to perhaps 180 km/ph or even more. I do not know if you share his view. I certainly do not because I know that excessive speeding kills.

This explains why the European Union is planning to fit new cars with cameras that could read road speed limit signs and automatically apply the brakes when this is exceeded. The new measures have been announced by the European Commission’s Mobility and Transport Department as a measure to reduce the 30,000 people who die on the roads in Europe every year and shockingly, 1.5 million are injured, of whom 120,000 are left permanently disabled. The EC’s Mobility and Transport Department hopes to roll out the ‘Intelligent Speed Adaptation’ technology (ISA) as part of a new road safety programme, which aims to slash the death toll from traffic accidents by a third by 2020. Experts estimate that 6,000 of those deaths could be prevented if drivers obeyed speed limits.

So, even if you are like my good friend who is an advocate of excessive speeding, I am confident, that more than likely, you have never come even remotely close to the incredible speeds the Veyron is capable of. After all, you do not really need to, even if you are extremely late for a meeting, even if you still think you can speed, let me inform you that in 2010, the 16-cylinder, 1,200-horsepower <http://auto. howstuffworks.com/horsepower. htm> Bugatti Veyron Super Sport <http://auto.howstuffworks.com/ bugatti.htm> was able to hit 268 miles per hour (431.3 km per hour) on a racetrack, setting a production car speed record. Veyron buyers, however, were likely disappointed to learn that their cars were limited to a mere 257 miles per hour (413.6 km per hour) to protect the vehicle’s tires.

These kinds of top speeds will soon be out of the reach of vehicles, including vehicles on Nigerian roads come September 1 when full enforcement commences with commercial vehicles, which according to the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) accounts for about 30 percent of fatalities on our roads annually. The speed limiter is provided for in the NRTR section 152 sub-section 4, which states that a person shall not drive a vehicle on a public road which is not fitted with a speed limiter noting in subsection 5 that any person who acts in contravention of this regulation shall be guilty of any offence and liable on conviction to a fine or a term of imprisonment of three months or both.

As I conclude my piece on the speed limiter, my focus this week is on the standard. Before I run an excerpt on the standard, I wish to leave you with a definition of speed limiters although there might be other richer definitions. A speed limiter device (SLD) is a governor <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Governor_(device)> used to limit or control the speed of a vehicle. It helps you to stay within the driving speed as contained in the 2012 NRTR, section 152 (1) which states that: “a person shall not drive a vehicle on an public road in excess of the prescribed speed limit provided in schedule 8 to these regulations or as may be published from time to time by the Commission.” It further states in sub-section 2, that “notwithstanding sub-regulation 1 of this regulation, no person shall drive a vehicle on any public road in excess of the speed limit indicated by an appropriate road traffic sign in respect of that road.”

The appropriate road sign referred to by the regulations includes the maximum speed limit of 100 km/ph reserved only for private cars and 90 km/ph for taxis and buses while the speed limit for built up areas could be anything between 30-50 km/ph or less. For all classes of vehicle as is being planned in our country, they are a statutory requirement that mandates all vehicles to be fitted with a speed limiter. I told you of the EU plan.

So how does it work? The device is programmed at a pre-fixed speed limit with a circuit that alerts the vehicle driver that he has reached the maximum speed limit. As you drive, a series of sensors detect how fast you are driving, and then communicates that information to the engine’s computer, which manages nearly all the functions of the engine. Once you reach a pre-determined top speed, the computer steps in and restricts inflow of air and fuel to the engine or reduces the sparks that cause combustion, thus preventing you from exceeding the top speed as determined. The device comes either in electronic or mechanical form, though sometimes both.

I am aware that some people are already aspiring to hawk the device when we commence while some plan to import without even knowing the standards. For such people, I wish to state here that there are guidelines thus - the speed limiting device shall be such that the vehicle in normal use shall comply with the following amongst others: it must be so designed and constructed that it will perform satisfactorily despite the vibrations to which it may be subjected; it must be so designed, constructed and assembled as to resist corrosion and aging phenomena to which it may be exposed; the device should be so designed, constructed, assembled and fitted to the vehicle to make it tamper-proof and safe against various factors such as disconnection failure of various components for power supply, speed sensor, mechanical actuator system, linkages etc.

In addition, the speed limiter device function must allow the normal accelerator pedal control for the purpose of gear changing; no malfunction or tampering should result in an increase power above that demanded by the position of the drivers accelerator; all components necessary for full function of the SDL shall be energised whenever the vehicle is being driven and the speed limiter shall have recorder with capacity to generate report in tabula, graphic, histogram and GPRS base system. The SDL can be said to be standard if it passes performance and endurance tests.