That same stretch has customarily been around 50 to 55 mph. As such, from the perspective of the everyday driver, they are not gaining any speed and only presumably losing speed. On the other hand, one argument is that by regulating the speed at lower rates of speed, there is a solid chance of smoothing out the flow and averting long delays due to traffic accidents.
In that manner of thinking, you might be able to proceed at a faster pace than you did when the legally posted speed limit was ostensibly higher which, as a reminder, was only the maximum allowed anyway and not the stated expected speed.
And, crucially, the hope is that the number of car crashes and fatalities will be reduced. One of the overarching issues about using VSL is that drivers might get confused by the changing speed limits. What the heck, some drivers might say, yesterday it was 55 mph, today it is 35 mph, and tomorrow it is anyones guess as to what it might be. The retort is that the speed limit is the speed limit. You are supposed to be paying attention and obeying the speed limit. Rather than relying on your gut or a hunch, the VSL makes things rather apparent as to what the speed limit is.
Just obey it and stop carping. Where the mix-up can be injurious or at times fatal entails a driver that thought the speed limit was faster than it currently is, and meanwhile another driver is lets assume abiding by the now-lowered speed limit. The driver that thinks the speed limit is 55 mph might readily ram into the slower moving car that is going at the legally stated VSL-posted speed of 35 mph. It is easy to point fingers at the faster-moving driver.
The dolt should have been looking for the variable speed limit and adjusted accordingly. You are hard-pressed to point a finger at the slower moving driver since they were obeying the posted VSL,though you can likely anticipate that the faster moving driver would try to contend that the slower moving driver was the problem this is seemingly not going to pass muster with a judge. One can also readily make the counter case too, namely in the use case of the VSL stating 55 mph, and meanwhile, other cars are being driven at 35 mph due to those drivers thinking that the speed limit is still 35 mph.
All told, there is a heightened chance of confusion about what the speed limit is since the number keeps varying and there is no particular set pattern involved.
Some would point the finger at the VSL itself, in the sense that it is a system devised by mankind that is rife with problems. Human drivers have enough to deal with when behind the wheel, besides also throwing at them a continually shifting target of what the speed limit might be. The cognitive overload on the driver is already much too high in todays chaotic driving world. Another consideration is whether the VSL can be legally enforced. A driver might justifiably claim they were confused by the signage.
Judges might or might not allow such rationalization for getting out of a speeding ticket. Yet another concern is the visibility of the VSL. Depending upon how the electronic display works, it could be that the sunshine can make seeing the speed an altogether tough proposition. Or, maybe when it is cloudy and raining the VSL sign is hard to see. The point is that by visually displaying the speed and doing so on a variable basis, if you dont perchance see the sign, you are up a creek without a paddle.
Thats right, catch those unaware drivers by shifting around the speed limit and ostensibly entrapping them into a speeding charge.
This could be a lucrative money maker for a municipality or roadway authority. Though people that live in the area might get used to the changing speed limits, visitors from out-of-town might have no idea what the signs mean, nor whether they are valid.
You can hear the surprised and dismayed speeding ticket holders insisting that they had never seen such signage before. They assumed that the signage was a practical joke or possibly intended for some purpose other than regulating the speed. The research on this topic is still being conducted and the results of using VSL are typically mushy. VSL admittedly might be overly challenging for humans.
Then again, perhaps if it was more prevalent as a technique, human drivers would get accustomed to the approach. You could persuasively argue that the biggest hurdle to be overcome is the inherent newness or uniqueness of the technique, rather than the abstract conceptual underpinnings per se. Now that weve covered many of the aspects underlying what human drivers do when confronted with variable speed limits, lets shift our attention. The future of cars consists of self-driving cars.
Self-driving cars are going to be using AI-based driving systems and there wont be a human driver at the wheel see my extensive coverage of self-driving cars at. Here is an intriguing question: How will AI-based true self-driving cars contend with variable speed limits, and will they be challenged by or find it easy to abide by VSL? As a clarification, true self-driving cars are ones that the AI drives the car entirely on its own and there isnt any human assistance during the driving task.
These driverless vehicles are considered Level 4 and Level 5 see my explanation at , while a car that requires a human driver to co-share the driving effort is usually considered at Level 2 or Level 3. The cars that co-share the driving task are described as being semi-autonomous, and typically contain a variety of automated add-ons that are referred to as ADAS Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems. There is not yet a true self-driving car at Level 5, which we dont yet even know if this will be possible to achieve, and nor how long it will take to get there.
Meanwhile, the Level 4 efforts are gradually trying to get some traction by undergoing very narrow and selective public roadway trials, though there is controversy over whether this testing should be allowed per se we are all life-or-death guinea pigs in an experiment taking place on our highways and byways, some contend, see my coverage at. Since semi-autonomous cars require a human driver, the adoption of those types of cars wont be markedly different than driving conventional vehicles, so theres not much new per se to cover about them on this topic though, as youll see in a moment, the points next made are generally applicable.
For semi-autonomous cars, it is important that the public needs to be forewarned about a disturbing aspect thats been arising lately, namely that despite those human drivers that keep posting videos of themselves falling asleep at the wheel of a Level 2 or Level 3 car,we all need to avoid being misled into believing that the driver can take away their attention from the driving task while driving a semi-autonomous car.
You are the responsible party for the driving actions of the vehicle, regardless of how much automation might be tossed into a Level 2 or Level 3. For Level 4 and Level 5 true self-driving vehicles, there wont be a human driver involved in the driving task. One aspect to immediately discuss entails the fact that the AI involved in todays AI driving systems is not sentient. In other words, the AI is altogether a collective of computer-based programming and algorithms, and most assuredly not able to reason in the same manner that humans can see my explanation at.
Because I want to underscore that when discussing the role of the AI driving system, I am not ascribing human qualities to the AI. Please be aware that there is an ongoing and dangerous tendency these days to anthropomorphize AI. In essence, people are assigning human-like sentience to todays AI, despite the undeniable and inarguable fact that no such AI exists as yet. This is an aspect that needs to be programmed as part of the hardware and software of the self-driving car.
First, the AI driving system has to become aware of the speed limit in whichever locale it is driving. This is usually done by pre-mapping the area that will be traveled by the self-driving car. Data is collected about the roadway particulars, including the speed limits. This is then fed into the AI driving system and used as part of the overall template about the roadway infrastructure and its contours. On the one hand, you might argue that it doesnt need to do so if the speed limits are already pre-mapped and available on-board the self-driving car.
That being said, it is certainly possible that a speed limit has changed, and the posted speed sign was updated after the pre-mapping was performed. As such, the AI driving system should rightfully be expected to scan in real-time for existing speed limit signs. In addition, as already discussed, there are commonplace instances wherein the speed limit is adjusted on the fly by roadway construction and for other reasons.
In that sense, a pre-mapping is only handy as an overall guide and not a definitive indication of what will be encountered during an actual driving journey. The self-driving car can use its cameras to try and detect and interpret speed limit signs. This is somewhat harder than you think it might be. If a speed limit sign is well-hidden or marred, it can be difficult to discern via the computational image processing taking place.
In any case, the detection of speed limit signs would be argued as essential and can be utilized in conjunction with the pre-mapping. As an aside, a fleet of self-driving cars also has an advantage in that if one of the self-driving cars comes upon a speed limit sign that heretofore was differently stated via pre-mapping, this updated info can be pushed up into the cloud of the fleet operator via OTA Over-The-Air electronic communications.
In turn, this could be downloaded and shared with the other self-driving cars in that fleet. The good news is that they are usually easier to spot.
This is partly because they are usually placed in very conspicuous placements and made as abundantly apparent as feasible, primarily for aiding human drivers to see them. They are usually well-maintained too, keeping in mind that much of the time they are currently used on an experimental or pilot basis. The other handy aspect about modern VSL is that the signboards can be equipped to electronically transmit the speed too.
Self-driving cars are going to leverage V2I, vehicle-to-infrastructure, which consists of roadway devices that are electronically beaming out signals. The beauty is that even if the visual sign is hard to visually detect maybe the onboard cameras are having trouble spotting a VSL sign , electronic messaging can be utilized.
This electronic messaging does not have to pertain only to self-driving cars. The odds are that conventional human-driven cars will be equipped with V2I and allow human drivers to receive machine-generated verbal or visual messages inside their vehicle about the speed that a nearby VSL is emitting.
Assuming that the VSL transmission or display can be readily detected, the AI driving system willsmoothly adjust to the speed limit changes as needed. Unlike human drivers, the AI doesnt have any feelings about whether the speed is too slow or too fast. The speed limit is the speed limit. Thats all there is to it. Im sure the passengers inside the self-driving car might see the world a different way.
In particular, if the self-driving car is going 35 miles per hour in an area that the riders have driven before at higher speeds, they might question why the AI driving system is proceeding so slowly. Those devising self-driving cars are likely to incorporate an explanatory component that would inform the passengers that the variable speed in that locale is now at say 35 mph. On the other hand, dont be surprised if passengers inside self-driving cars try to stoke the AI driving system to go faster than the allowed speed limit.
It isnt clearcut as to what those passengers might use to induce this unlawful behavior, though perhaps a quick deposit of some cryptocurrency into the Swiss bank account of the AI system might do the trick. Assuming that you are driving in a locale that you know…. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Skip to content. Instead, the traffic conditions, weather conditions, and other factors might contribute toward a final determination of what the speed limit will be on any given day and at any given time.
In that sense, you have no means beforehand of knowing exactly what the speed limit will be. You might say this is a variable speed limit VSL and that it also varies over time. It is a varying variable speed limit, as it were in contrast to a predictable, predetermined scheduled change of speed limits that are of a fixed nature for when they occur and how long they last. The theory underlying variable speed limits is that it potentially can smooth out traffic, reduce risks, decrease car crashes, and minimize injuries and fatalities.
Meanwhile, this accommodates the needs of the driving public. Rather than always having to go at a slower speed on a given roadway, there might be times that it is okay to go faster. A static speed limit would not normally allow for that kind of flexibility, while a variable speed limit would. You are driving along and the posted speed limit is shown on an electronic display.
Perhaps the display is showing a speed of 35 mph as the speed limit. During your lunch break, you get back onto the roadway and you then observe that the speed limit sign now says 50 mph. Upon the end of your workday, you once again are driving your car on that same road and notice that the speed limit is now set at 30 mph.
Indeed, a recent news story indicated that there will be seventy-two of the variable speed limit signs set up on a mile stretch of road on Interstate 76 in Pennsylvania between the locales of King of Prussia and Philadelphia. That comes to about five of those VSL signs per mile on average. The speeds to be displayed will range from a low of 35 mph to a high of 55 mph. That same stretch has customarily been around 50 to 55 mph. As such, from the perspective of the everyday driver, they are not gaining any speed and only presumably losing speed.
On the other hand, one argument is that by regulating the speed at lower rates of speed, there is a solid chance of smoothing out the flow and averting long delays due to traffic accidents. In that manner of thinking, you might be able to proceed at a faster pace than you did when the legally posted speed limit was ostensibly higher which, as a reminder, was only the maximum allowed anyway and not the stated expected speed.
And, crucially, the hope is that the number of car crashes and fatalities will be reduced. One of the overarching issues about using VSL is that drivers might get confused by the changing speed limits. The retort is that the speed limit is the speed limit. You are supposed to be paying attention and obeying the speed limit. Rather than relying on your gut or a hunch, the VSL makes things rather apparent as to what the speed limit is. Just obey it and stop carping.
The driver that thinks the speed limit is 55 mph might readily ram into the slower moving car that is going at the legally stated VSL-posted speed of 35 mph. It is easy to point fingers at the faster-moving driver. The dolt should have been looking for the variable speed limit and adjusted accordingly. You are hard-pressed to point a finger at the slower moving driver since they were obeying the posted VSL, though you can likely anticipate that the faster moving driver would try to contend that the slower moving driver was the problem this is seemingly not going to pass muster with a judge.
One can also readily make the counter case too, namely in the use case of the VSL stating 55 mph, and meanwhile, other cars are being driven at 35 mph due to those drivers thinking that the speed limit is still 35 mph. All told, there is a heightened chance of confusion about what the speed limit is since the number keeps varying and there is no particular set pattern involved.
Some would point the finger at the VSL itself, in the sense that it is a system devised by mankind that is rife with problems. Human drivers have enough to deal with when behind the wheel, besides also throwing at them a continually shifting target of what the speed limit might be. Adding a changing speed limit is the proverbial last straw on the camel's back, some would assert. Another consideration is whether the VSL can be legally enforced.
A driver might justifiably claim they were confused by the signage. Judges might or might not allow such rationalization for getting out of a speeding ticket. Yet another concern is the visibility of the VSL.
Depending upon how the electronic display works, it could be that the sunshine can make seeing the speed an altogether tough proposition. Or, maybe when it is cloudy and raining the VSL sign is hard to see. This could be a lucrative money maker for a municipality or roadway authority. Though people that live in the area might get used to the changing speed limits, visitors from out-of-town might have no idea what the signs mean, nor whether they are valid.
You can hear the surprised and dismayed speeding ticket holders insisting that they had never seen such signage before. They assumed that the signage was a practical joke or possibly intended for some purpose other than regulating the speed. The research on this topic is still being conducted and the results of using VSL are typically mushy. VSL admittedly might be overly challenging for humans. Then again, perhaps if it was more prevalent as a technique, human drivers would get accustomed to the approach.
You could persuasively argue that the biggest hurdle to be overcome is the inherent newness or uniqueness of the technique, rather than the abstract conceptual underpinnings per se. The future of cars consists of self-driving cars. Here is an intriguing question: How will AI-based true self-driving cars contend with variable speed limits, and will they be challenged by or find it easy to abide by VSL?
These driverless vehicles are considered Level 4 and Level 5 see my explanation at this link here , while a car that requires a human driver to co-share the driving effort is usually considered at Level 2 or Level 3. Meanwhile, the Level 4 efforts are gradually trying to get some traction by undergoing very narrow and selective public roadway trials, though there is controversy over whether this testing should be allowed per se we are all life-or-death guinea pigs in an experiment taking place on our highways and byways, some contend, see my coverage at this link here.
You are the responsible party for the driving actions of the vehicle, regardless of how much automation might be tossed into a Level 2 or Level 3. In other words, the AI is altogether a collective of computer-based programming and algorithms, and most assuredly not able to reason in the same manner that humans can see my explanation at this link here.
Because I want to underscore that when discussing the role of the AI driving system, I am not ascribing human qualities to the AI. Please be aware that there is an ongoing and dangerous tendency these days to anthropomorphize AI. This is an aspect that needs to be programmed as part of the hardware and software of the self-driving car.
First, the AI driving system has to become aware of the speed limit in whichever locale it is driving. This is usually done by pre-mapping the area that will be traveled by the self-driving car. Data is collected about the roadway particulars, including the speed limits. This is then fed into the AI driving system and used as part of the overall template about the roadway infrastructure and its contours.
That being said, it is certainly possible that a speed limit has changed, and the posted speed sign was updated after the pre-mapping was performed. As such, the AI driving system should rightfully be expected to scan in real-time for existing speed limit signs. In addition, as already discussed, there are commonplace instances wherein the speed limit is adjusted on the fly by roadway construction and for other reasons.
In that sense, a pre-mapping is only handy as an overall guide and not a definitive indication of what will be encountered during an actual driving journey. The self-driving car can use its cameras to try and detect and interpret speed limit signs.
This is somewhat harder than you think it might be. If a speed limit sign is well-hidden or marred, it can be difficult to discern via the computational image processing taking place.
In any case, the detection of speed limit signs would be argued as essential and can be utilized in conjunction with the pre-mapping.
As an aside, a fleet of self-driving cars also has an advantage in that if one of the self-driving cars comes upon a speed limit sign that heretofore was differently stated via pre-mapping, this updated info can be pushed up into the cloud of the fleet operator via OTA Over-The-Air electronic communications.
In turn, this could be downloaded and shared with the other self-driving cars in that fleet. The good news is that they are usually easier to spot. This is partly because they are usually placed in very conspicuous placements and made as abundantly apparent as feasible, primarily for aiding human drivers to see them.
They are usually well-maintained too, keeping in mind that much of the time they are currently used on an experimental or pilot basis. The other handy aspect about modern VSL is that the signboards can be equipped to electronically transmit the speed too. Self-driving cars are going to leverage V2I, vehicle-to-infrastructure, which consists of roadway devices that are electronically beaming out signals.
The beauty is that even if the visual sign is hard to visually detect maybe the onboard cameras are having trouble spotting a VSL sign , electronic messaging can be utilized. This electronic messaging does not have to pertain only to self-driving cars. The odds are that conventional human-driven cars will be equipped with V2I and allow human drivers to receive machine-generated verbal or visual messages inside their vehicle about the speed that a nearby VSL is emitting.
Assuming that the VSL transmission or display can be readily detected, the AI driving system will smoothly adjust to the speed limit changes as needed. The speed limit is the speed limit.
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