Ford created “night time drive mode” and patented the concept
“Evening drive mode” would restrict car speeds after darkish; it is aimed toward first responders
The system would use a light-weight sensor that limits speeds after darkish
Ford has developed a “night time drive mode” that limits car speeds after darkish.
The nighttime pace limiter was disclosed by Ford in a patent utility the automaker filed with the US Patent and Trademark Workplace (USPTO) again in August 2019. That utility was simply printed by the USPTO on June 4 of this 12 months.
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Ford designed this function with first responders in thoughts, in line with the applying. Emergencies occur day or night time, the automaker notes, including that the high-speed driving concerned in attending to the scene of an emergency leaves much less margin for error even for expert drivers.
“Whereas these first responders are usually skilled in driving strategies for prime pace car operation, there’s nonetheless much less time to react to conditions on roadways when touring at excessive speeds,” the applying reads. “That is significantly true at night time and beneath inclement climate circumstances.”
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The pace limiter could be triggered by a light-weight sensor that will measure ambient gentle ranges, but additionally talk with a automobile’s GPS and telematics programs to find out if it is truly nighttime or if decrease gentle ranges are on account of inclement climate. In both case, the car could be restricted to a selected pace no matter native pace limits except the driving force requests an override.
Pace limiters are already utilized in sure efficiency vehicles, and Volvo has been limiting all of its vehicles to 112 mph for the previous few years within the title of security. In 2023, New York lawmakers additionally proposed mandated limiters for serial speeders. However we’ve not seen the precise use case of night time driving and emergency responders that Ford is discussing right here.