Australia Piloting GPS-Based Control of Vehicle Speed

Victoria, Australia, has begun trials this month on a GPS-based speed limiting device for vehicles. Titled the "Australasian Intelligent Speed Adaptation Initiative" the technology -- to be installed first in government vehicles as a pilot project -- keeps track of where the vehicle is located, and the speed limit at that location. If the GPS signals from the vehicle indicate a higher rate of speed than is posted on that section of road, an audible warning sounds. If the driver ignores the warning, the gas pedal gets more difficult to depress. The final stage is a technology bypass of the driver so that no amount of pedal-mashing will accelerate the vehicle. Labeled "Big Brother" and worse by Australian media, the system has been in discussion for some years, and according to government sources, is a response to high rates of traffic accidents, claiming that the devices could cut traffic deaths by nearly 25 percent.