Posts Tagged ‘vehicle kill switches’

Motorcycle News: More on Kill Switches and Speed Limiters and NIMBY.

Posted: February 8, 2024 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle advocacy, Motorcycle news, Motorcycle racing, Uncategorized
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ijustwant2ride.com

What you need to know… This is going to happen, sadly, sooner or later.

State lawmakers in California are now pushing for electronic speed limiters for 2027 and beyond vehicles. This is in addtion to the work at the federal level on this issue.

The Biden administration, via the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), have introduced Kill Switches and Speed Limiters for 2027 and beyond vehicles.

NHTSA is asking for public input. Please ensure that you provide input  regarding this new proposal at regulations.gov by searching for the docket number, NHTSA-2022-0079, and follow the instructions for making comments.

Comments are due by March 5th.

My Take – This is a big DOWN SHIFT for individual freedom and the right to travel.

What you need to know… “Not In My Backyard” is coming for a famous American racetrack.

Laguna Seca raceway is under attack as California NIMBY coalition seeks to shutdown world famous track.

Stating that the racetrack is a “public nuisance” the “Highway 68 Coalition” cites the following:

                        Increased use of the track.

                        Sound levels are more than permitted levels.

                        Claiming that zoning prevents racing.

                        Increased traffic

                        Inadequate and poor-quality water

                        Inadequate sewage disposal due to expansion of camping.

Laguan Seca is now owned by the County of Monterey and generated $250 million dollars in 2022.

My Take – Another big DOWN SHIFT.  Way to often these NIMBY efforts are successful.  Love Laguna Seca now, it might not be there in the future.

Ride on, Ride Safe

Motorcycle News: More on Kill Switches and a Bently Motorcycle?

Posted: December 21, 2023 in custom motorcycle, Motorcycle, Motorcycle news
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ijustwant2ride.com

DOWN Shift – Vehicle Kill Switches  

Nothing has changed except that National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has published it preliminary report on the Biden Infrastructure mandate regariding vehicle kill switches. The NHTSA is looking for public feedback on this issue.  One of the areas that they are looking for input is on false positives.

My Take – False positives shutting your car/motorcycle off is one major area of concern I have with this proposed legislation.  Even with 99.9% success rate that would leave millions of vehicles shutdown every day. Another major area of concern for me, can the police or OTHER government officials shut down your car remotely?  Just because they say that it will not happen does not mean it will not happen. You can supply that feedback and make your voice heard on this new regulation by going to regualtions.gov and searching for the docket number, NHTSA-2022-0079.

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UP Shift – Bently and Ducati team up for a luxury motorcycle

The Ducati Diavel V4 motorcycle is getting the Bently Batur treatment.

The Bently Batur with a twin-turbo 12-cylinder 730HP engine is the most powerful Bentley ever to leave the production line.  The Batur was limited to a run of just 18 but Ducati can let you get a taste of that exclusivity.

The Ducati is painted a Scarab Green color that pulls from the Bentley Mulliner palette. The lines of the motorcycle are being updated to reflect the Bently’s characteristics.  Featuring forged rims that reflect the shapes of the car. The bike’s two-tone grille comes directly from the Batur while the triangular exhaust pulls from the sports car and front mudguard, fairing and upper view of the tank are meant to look like Batur’s hood.

Even with the Bently treatment buyers have option:

    Two-seat or single-seater tail configuration. The rider’s seat is covered in black Alcantara and red fabric that matches the look of Batur’s seats. The Bentley logo is embroidered on the rear pad.

    A “jet” helmet

    A matching jacket

Ducati will sell only 550 of these luxury motorcycles. Fifty examples are reserved exclusively for Bentley owners, who can add even more custom elements.

Each bike comes with a certificate of authenticity, a passenger seat and motorcycle cover, delivered in a personalized wooden case.

My Take – WOW.  No pricing was available when I wrote this post, but I expect it will be out of my tax bracket.  I put this as an upshift as it draws attention to the motorcycle industry.  If a Bently Batur owner gets a matching motorcycle, maybe just maybe they might buy a bike that they will actually ride.

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Ride on, Ride Safe

Motorcycle News: Vehicle Kill Switches and Speed Limiters

Posted: November 23, 2023 in Motorcycle, Motorcycle advocacy, Motorcycle news
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ijustwant2ride.com

I am always looking at motorcycle news. Sometimes it is good news, sometimes it is not so good news. Here I give you a quick synopsis of the news story that caught my eye and then my take on that story.

Down Shift – Vehicle Kill Switches  

Under the Biden Infrastructure Bill “provision requires such technology to “passively monitor the performance of a driver” and “prevent or limit motor vehicle operation if an impairment is detected.” That “this needs to be developed and rules given to manufactures by 2026”.  We could see this as a “new feature”, for which we will be paying, by 2027.

My Take – Some are arguing that this is not a kill switch, but from the way I read the language it is a kill switch.  Whether or not it will stop a moving vehicle is a different question.  But, the way government bureaucracies work, if it does not cover stopping a moving vehicle at first, it soon will.

We do not need this level of government interference in our lives.  While the provision states “impaired driver” now what prevents the standard from changing to something different in the future.

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Down Shift – Using Technology to limit vehicle speed.

To prevent deaths from speeding, the NTSB has recommended limiting the speed of cars via technology, if necessary. This proposed action is another part of the Biden Infrastructure Plan.  This effort is modeled from the European Union legislation requiring all new vehicles to have “intelligent speed assistance” systems as standard equipment, which can be temporarily overridden by the driver. The limiting technology, known as Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA), doesn’t force drivers to obey the speed limit. 

My Take – I am sure that Vision Zero has their smelly little hands on both these rules that were slide into the Biden Infrastructure Plan.  Yes, I do not like the Vision Zero folks.  IMHO they are nothing but little totalitarians who what to eliminate motorcycles from the road. I am sure their unwritten manifesto is “The best way to save lives in the transportation system is to have no transportation”.

They state that the ISA will not force drivers/riders to obey the speed limit but, like the above proposal, if it does not at the start it will in a few years.

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Ride on, Ride Safe