Baby, You Can Drive My Car (But Not Too Fast)

The Eurocrats are at it again. Not content to enforce laws with, you know, police, the European Union, according to The Telegraph, is now considering a proposal that would fit new cars with cameras that could read road speed limit signs and automatically slow the car down to the posted speed limit. This proposal is apparently designed to reduce the 30,000 people who die each year in auto accidents on European roads.  Naturally, this would make make virtually impossible the practice of motorists speeding just up enough to pull over to the next lane so as not to miss that last exit to Stuttgart – and one ends up in Heidelberg, instead.

This measure was announced by something called the European Commission’s Mobility and Transport Department.  Oh, good Lord!  Existing cars could be required to be retro-fitted with the speed limiters as well, preventing them from exceeding 70 miles per hour.  This could very well then be called the Auto Mechanic Full Employment Act.

To the all-knowing European bureaucrat, this should hardly seem adequate. I suggest they need to also install liquid intake limiters. Those would disallow drivers and passengers from consuming too much liquid prior to a long drive – especially when the next rest stop is 80 kilometers away.  Don’t need any, ahem, in-car accidents either.  This measure would of course by announced by the Euro-Nation Urination Transport Department.  Sounds like something that current New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg should run.  He’ll be out of a job soon and has some experience in limiting liquid consumption of individuals.

In a rare bout in common sense, the British Transport Secretary opposes the proposal. Patrick McLoughlin was quoted in The Telegraph stating, “This has Big Brother written all over it and is exactly the sort of thing that gets people’s backs up about Brussels.”  Whoa!  Who is this guy?  If he keeps talking like that, he’ll be out of a job and into an EU reeducation camp fast than you can say Emerson Fittipaldi.

If this idea takes hold in Europe, how long before the Obamacrats decide it’s a great idea for America?  Look, I like technology in cars, I really do.  Anti-lock breaks.  Check. Satellite radio.  Check.  Power windows.  Check.   But at some point, enough is enough.  Just last week I got in my car to go to work and it chastised me because the tire pressure was low and I needed to fill up the gas tank.  Then it asked me if I wanted a diagnostic report on my car.  It was a lovely woman’s voice, but really.  My car already gets more checkups on it than I do – and I have a lot more miles on me than the car does.

I don’t need technology to verbally abuse me.  I have plenty of real people in my life to do that.

Curtice Mang is the author of the book, The Constitution – I’m Not Kidding and Other Tales of Liberal Folly. He can be contacted at www.mangwrites.com, where one can also purchase his book; or contact Curtice at mangwrites at cox.net.