Ford develops 'night driving mode' to limit speed after dark

According to foreign media reports, Ford has developed a "night driving mode" that can limit the speed of the vehicle after dark. Ford submitted a patent application for a night speed limiter in August 2019. On June 4 this year, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) published the patent application.

(Image source: Ford)

According to the application, Ford designed the feature with the needs of first responders in mind. Ford noted that emergencies can occur at any time of day or night, and even for a skilled driver, reaching the scene of an emergency requires high speeds, leaving little room for error.

"These first responders are typically trained in driving techniques for operating high-speed vehicles, but when traveling at high speeds, they have less time to respond to situations on the road. This is especially true at night and during inclement weather conditions," the application states.

The speed limiter is triggered by a light sensor that measures ambient light levels and communicates with the car's GPS and telematics systems to determine if it is night time or if the light is low due to bad weather. In either case, the vehicle is limited to a specific speed, regardless of local speed limits, unless the driver requests to exceed the speed limit.

Some high-performance cars already use speed limiters, and for safety reasons Volvo has limited the top speed of all its cars to 112 mph for the past few years. New York lawmakers have also proposed making speed limiters mandatory for drivers who repeatedly speed in 2023. However, no specific use cases have been seen for nighttime driving and emergency responders, as discussed by Ford.