The 2015 Ford S-Max Says ‘No Speeding’ To Its Drivers With Intelligent Speed Limiter

The 2015 Ford S-Max is putting its foot down on lead-footers by saying no to speeding. While the car isn’t going to actually start berating its drivers in the language of their choice once they start to creep up over the speed limit, the Ford S-Max will be equipped with some smart safety technology that will take charge.

The technology is called Intelligent Speed Limiter, according to CNET, and it’s not as creepy or intrusive as you might think. If, for whatever reason, a driver does not want to be limited in speed, the driver can turn off the no speeding technology and drive at the desired speed. In fact, all the driver has to do is to push the accelerator hard and the system will turn off.

If you’re thinking that this is little more than cruise-control, then you’d be wrong. The Intelligent Speed Limiter in the Ford S-Max utilizes traffic-sign recognition technology through the use of a camera on the windshield. As the car recognizes different road signs, the car slows down when it needs to do so by limiting the use of fuel to the engine.

The driver can set speed tolerances or just let the car do all the adjusting, according to The Truth About Cars. The technology kicks in at 20 mph and ends at 120 mph, and drivers can set speed tolerances up to 5 mph above the speed limit.

The Ford S-Max was designed to remove “one of the stresses of driving, helping ensure customers remain within the legal speed limit,” according to active safety chief Stefan Knappes. He knows drivers may not realize how fast they are going until an accident happens or until they get a ticking for speeding.

While some Americans are quite fond of their need for speed, it seems as though Ford believes Europeans are not quite as fond of speeding. A Ford spokesperson told CNET the no speeding technology is meant for the S-Max and Europe alone.

“This came out of consumer research in Europe. We asked customers what they’d like in their cars and this is one of the things that came up.”

This summer will see the release of the 2015 Ford S-Max and its no speeding technology in Europe, and it will be interesting to see people’s reactions to the cars and how well the cars are received by consumers.

[Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images News]