Transport Canada has been planning on implementing a change which would lower Canadian bumper safety standards from the current 8 km/h standard to 4 km/h. This halving of the standard would bring the Canadian testing in line with the regulations of both Europe and the U.S. Apparently, Transport Canada believes that vehicles would be cheaper to import while maintaining automobile safety. In fact, Canadian officials believe that the new standard could actually improve pedestrian safety. Or not, according to the IIHS, which has sent a letter to Transport Canada urging them to reconsider making the change. The IIHS response is pretty scathing, Using words and phrases like "unsubstantiated, incorrect assumptions, ill-informed and misleading," but the response could seemingly be summed up this way: Yo hosers, what were you thinking, eh?
In an effort to thwart habitual speeding, Transport Canada has developed a new system that can make exceeding posted limits difficult or impossible. The device utilizes GPS and a speed limit map coupled with technology that caps a vehicle's top speed based on the legal speed of the road being traveled. Once the vehicle arrives at the predetermined speed limit, the device makes it very difficult to go any faster. For now, Canada is looking to slap this stingy speed governor on the vehicles of perpetual speeders and reckless drivers, but the technology could one day be used for all drivers. Lovely.
Luckily for drivers here in the States, a strict speed limit governor is just un-American, and legislators know it would be very unpopular politically suicidal to implement. Still, we're sure there'd still be some people willing to embrace technology like this. Heck, a lot of parents of 16 to 18 year-olds probably wouldn't mind purchasing this device to keep their teenagers in check.
