Draft 1: Proposal for the Integration of the Speed Limiter with the New On-Board Unit (OBU)

1. Background 

In recent years, the frequency of speed-related accidents in Singapore has increased. According to the Channelnewsasia (2021), speeding is Singapore's most committed traffic offence. Despite the installations of speed cameras, speed traps and the speed limits of 40km/h in School Zones and Silver Zones, 80km/h to 90km/h on most expressways, and 50km/h in most country areas unless stated otherwise, errant drivers are still negligent on the road as they refuse to adhere to the limits imposed (LTA, 2021). A recent case to illustrate how fatal speeding-related accidents can be is the Tanjong Pagar incident on 13 February 2021. The driver drove at an approximate speed of 200km/h on the narrow roads of Tanjong Pagar, which had a speed limit of 40km/h. The accident was a confluence of many factors, but an apparent cause was the nature of the road, which was not suitable for driving at such high speeds. The driver's negligence led to the death of 5 people, including himself. 


In order to prevent vehicles from driving at high speeds in constricted areas, a speed limiting device should be more prevalent in all vehicles in Singapore. According to the Road Traffic Act, it is only mandatory for heavy vehicles with a maximum laden weight greater than 12000 kilogrammes to be fitted with speed limiters to prevent them from driving beyond the speed limit of 60km/h (Ong, 2020). While the speed limiter acts as a preventive measure for such vehicles from speeding, it does not ensure that drivers will adhere to the speed limits imposed on a specific road such as roads along a school zone. With the integration of speed limiters with the On-Board Units (OBU) in all the vehicles, vehicles can calibrate the speed in accordance with the speed limit of a particular area, preventing drivers from speeding.  


1.1 On-Board Unit (OBU)

An On-Board Unit (OBU), which is currently known as In-Vehicle Unit (IU), will be installed in all the vehicles in Singapore (Cheyenne, 2021). According to CARRO (n.d.), drivers will be charged based on the distance travelled on congested roads, instead of physical per-entry gantries, with OBU. Just like the current IU, there will still be a slot for cash cards in the OBU, but drivers can opt for Giro, or to be paid via their credit or debit cards. Parking, checkpoint tolls and usage of off-peak cars can also be paid through the OBU electronically (CARRO, n.d.). On top of that, OBU also acts as a device for LTA to broadcast traffic advisories. Besides allowing drivers to obtain information on ERP charging locations and rates, the OBU also provides locations of nearby School Zones and Silver Zones as well as real-time road traffic updates with the help of Global Positioning System (GPS) (Tan, 2020). The real-time road traffic updates include estimated travel time, traffic conditions, parking information and incidents and road works. 


1.1.1 Cash Card

“A cash card is an electronic payment card that stores cash for various types of payments.” (Kagan, 2021). Every vehicle has an In-Vehicle Unit (IU), which will be replaced by an On-Board Unit (OBU), where a cash card will be inserted to make payment while passing through gantries. Similarly, the OBU accepts different types of cash cards, such as the original NETS CashCard, NETS Flashpay, NETS Motoring Card, Credit Cards and CEPAS-compliant cards (EZ-Link, NETS, Transitlink) (Cheyenne, 2021). 


1.1.2 Global Positioning System (GPS)

“The Global Positioning System, also known as GPS, is a satellite-based navigation system made up of at least 24 satellites.” (Garmin, 2021). GPS satellites go around the Earth twice a day in a specific orbit, where each satellite sends a special signal and orbital parameters that allow GPS devices to decode and compute the exact location of the satellite. With the information obtained, the GPS receiver will then calculate the driver's exact location with trilateration. The receiver calculates the distance to every satellite by the time taken for the transmitted signal to be received. With the measured distance from a few more satellites, the receiver is able to determine the driver’s location and showcase it electronically (Garmin, 2021). 


1.2 Speed Limiter 

A Governor, also more commonly known as a speed limiter, is a device which is hooked up to certain classes of automotive vehicle. The purpose of this is to limit the vehicle's top speed. The Electronic Control Unit (ECU), would preset a speed limit, when the vehicles speed reaches the limit, this information will be relayed to the speed limiter ECU, limiting air flow and fuel intake into the engine.

   

1.2.1 Speed Sensor

A Speed Sensor is a micro device that is attached to the transmission of a vehicle and allows the onboard computer of the car to detect the speed of the vehicle.


1.2.2 Actuator

An actuator also known as a fuel control solenoid valve works by opening and closing the actuator based on the amount of fuel the vehicle needs when passing through the high-pressure pumping chamber, this controls the flow of the fuel.


1.2.3 Electronic Control Unit (ECU)

An ECU is a device that controls specific functions in a vehicle. Generally an individual vehicle may even contain up to 100 ECUs all to control different functions. In this case the ECU sets the preset speed limit.



1.3 Problem Statement

Ideally, drivers should follow the speed limit assigned to the different zones in Singapore to prevent accidents from happening. However, reckless drivers often disregard the speed limit due to the lack of effective sensors that monitor their driving. Even with speed cameras and speed traps installed on the roads to capture speeding vehicles, they are still not enough to prevent drivers from speeding. Thus, with the integration of speed limiters which consist of a speed sensor to the upcoming On-Board Unit (OBU), drivers will not be able to accelerate more than the stipulated limit.


1.4 Purpose Statement

This report is a proposal to the LTA regarding the possible integration of speed limiters (Speed sensors) with the upcoming On-Board Unit (OBU), as a possible preventive measure for accidents that result from speeding.



2. Problem Solution

The integration of the speed limiter with the On-Board Unit (OBU) will utilize two sensors, namely the speed sensor and the Global Positioning System(GPS) sensor.  The GPS sensor from the OBU will obtain the live location of the car along with the speed limit of a particular road. The data obtained by the GPS sensor is in the OBU, which will be processed and transmitted to the speed limiter. Once the speed limiter receives the speed limit of a particular road, the speed sensor in the speed limiter will detect the speed limit and prevent the car from going faster once the car reaches the predetermined speed. With the utilization of these sensors, drivers will not be able to exceed the predetermined top speed. Thus, this implementation will revolutionize road safety as speeding in populated areas is effectively ceased, which will significantly reduce the number of accidents caused by speeding. 

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