Ford debuts speeding fine avoidance system

It was only a matter of time before a car company appealed to motorists' hip pockets by inventing technology that can prevent a vehicle exceeding the speed limit regardless of what it is.

By combining the existing technologies of a conventional speed limiter and speed limit sign recognition technology, Ford of Europe claims to have delivered an 'Intelligent Speed Limiter; that it says will "prevent drivers from exceeding speed limits, and potentially from incurring costly speeding penalties".

The idea is sure to pique the interest of any road user who has been stung by a speeding infringement and could have a manifest effect on driver behaviour.

Ford's new S-MAX features a special camera that constantly monitors road side speed limit signs at speeds of between 20 and 120mph (about 32-193km/h).

With this information it automatically sets the car's speed limiter to the indicated speed limit, theoretically meaning the vehicle will never exceed the posted speed limit.

But here's a catch — the car won't be offered in Australia.

Ford Australia says the people-mover segment, dominated by the Honda Odyssey and Kia Carnival, is too small to develop an effective, profitable business case for the S-MAX locally.

"Drivers are not always conscious of speeding and sometimes only becoming aware they were going too fast when they receive a fine in the mail or are pulled over by law enforcement," observed Stefan Kappes, Ford of Europe's active safety supervisor.

"Intelligent Speed Limiter can remove one of the stresses of driving, helping ensure customers remain within the legal speed limit," he said.

In the UK, the new S-MAX is priced from £24,545 ($A46,000). As well as the new speeding fine avoidance system, the S-MAX also includes a pre-collision assistant with pedestrian detection that will automatically apply the brakes if it detects an imminent collision.

Although it won't be sold here, the latest S-MAX's safety technologies are likely to filter down to other Ford models in future, but the technology could still face hurdles in Australia, where the wide variety of speed limit signs has prevented road sign recognition technologies being offered by European car-makers in the past.

In stark contrast to the S-MAX's Intelligent Speed Limiter, which is just one of 20 new technologies for the new people-mover, Ford offers an automatic burnout mode for the 2015 Mustang due on sale here in December, dubbed electronic line lock in Blue Oval vernacular.

So it seems that while Ford's newest people-mover can help drivers avoid fines and collisions, its latest pony encourages them to do the exact opposite. Technology is a wondrous thing.