Photo: SEAT
Based on a study by Spanish carmaker SEAT, technology that can read road signs, such as its Dynamic Road Sign Display, could save drivers as much as £327 million ($451 million) in the UK alone. It also found that from a total of 2,000 drivers, nearly 10% admitted to being caught speeding every year, with over three-quarters (76%) saying they aren’t always aware of the speed they’re doing.
Using a front-mounted camera capable of detecting speed limit signs, modern SEAT models such as the all-new Leon can automatically adjust their speed according to the legal limit, giving drivers unaware of how fast they should be going a helping hand. The system can also scan school zones, as well as various other road signs.
According to the Department for Transport (Dft), over 50% of cars will exceed the speed limit on 30 mph (48 kph) roads, while 47% of them ignore the speed limit on highways—at least that’s what the numbers showed in 2020.
It’s no wonder that 40% of people who got polled said that they would welcome such a system on their cars if available.
“It’s certainly eye opening to see that significant numbers of motorists aren’t necessarily always aware of their own speeds, but thankfully there is in-car technology – like our Dynamic Road Sign Display – already on the market to make drivers safer on the road," said SEAT UK exec, Richard Harrison.
Even though this study was conducted in the UK, its findings can be applied to any region across the globe. It’s also a bit of a shame that more car manufacturers aren’t offering this type of technology already. For example, there are loads of both high-end and budget-friendly models that will recognize various signs (not all) and warn you about their presence, but that doesn't mean the car will also slow down automatically.
One company that did go all the way is Lincoln, with its Co-Pilot360 Plus system as seen in the 2021 Aviator. It has a Speed Sign Recognition function that will indeed adjust the speed of the vehicle to match a preset tolerance once a sign is recognized.
According to the Department for Transport (Dft), over 50% of cars will exceed the speed limit on 30 mph (48 kph) roads, while 47% of them ignore the speed limit on highways—at least that’s what the numbers showed in 2020.
It’s no wonder that 40% of people who got polled said that they would welcome such a system on their cars if available.
“It’s certainly eye opening to see that significant numbers of motorists aren’t necessarily always aware of their own speeds, but thankfully there is in-car technology – like our Dynamic Road Sign Display – already on the market to make drivers safer on the road," said SEAT UK exec, Richard Harrison.
Even though this study was conducted in the UK, its findings can be applied to any region across the globe. It’s also a bit of a shame that more car manufacturers aren’t offering this type of technology already. For example, there are loads of both high-end and budget-friendly models that will recognize various signs (not all) and warn you about their presence, but that doesn't mean the car will also slow down automatically.
One company that did go all the way is Lincoln, with its Co-Pilot360 Plus system as seen in the 2021 Aviator. It has a Speed Sign Recognition function that will indeed adjust the speed of the vehicle to match a preset tolerance once a sign is recognized.
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