A campaign against a proposed 30 km/h speed limit in Switzerland inadvertently caused traffic to slow down due to automatic braking systems in modern cars misinterpreting advertising posters as speed limit signs.
In Switzerland, discussions are underway about the wider implementation of a 30 km/h speed limit, which has sparked significant opposition among drivers. Opponents of the proposal have launched a visible campaign to prevent the lower speed limit from being adopted more broadly and to maintain higher speed limits. However, this very campaign has led to unintended consequences, causing traffic to slow down instead.
The advertising posters used in the campaign feature imagery depicting the 30 km/h limit. Modern vehicles equipped with automatic traffic sign recognition technology have detected these posters and mistakenly interpreted them as indicating that speed limits were already in effect on the roads. Consequently, this has resulted in automatic braking actions initiated by the vehicles, which have reduced their speeds to match what they believed to be the correct speed limit.
Given that the posters have also been deployed on roads where the speed limit is actually 80 km/h, the drop in vehicle speed has been considerable and has raised concerns among both drivers and traffic authorities. This situation highlights the impact of technology on driving behavior and the complexities of implementing new traffic regulations amidst public resistance.
