Why does the speedometer show 200 km / h or more?

The speedometer of all modern cars has a maximum speed mark of 200 km / h or more. A logical question arises: why is this necessary, if it is still forbidden to develop such speed on ordinary roads? In addition, most cars are technically unable to accelerate to such a limit! What's the catch?

In fact, there are several answers to this question. And each of them is quite important.

Cause 1

The first thing you need to know is that cars available to ordinary people can reach speeds of up to 200 km / h and even higher. They can do this (if the engine allows) on special tracks. For example, on some motorways in Germany.

Cause 2

The second important point concerns the technical point. The fact is that when creating cars, engineers want, among other things, that the speedometer needle never rests on the limiter. This is necessary to prevent malfunctioning information equipment.

Of course, this applies mainly to situations with the same highways, where the car has the right to accelerate to 180 or more kilometers per hour.

Cause 3

The third point is the issue of ergonomics. Numerous studies show that it is most convenient for the driver to perceive information from the speedometer scale in situations where the arrow is in the left sector or closer to 12 o'clock (in the middle). This feature is due to the specifics of the human brain and its perception.

Cause 4

Finally, there is a fourth aspect - unification. Cars of the same model range can be equipped with engines that vary greatly in power. Equipping them with different dashboards and even more so with different speedometer dials would just be a waste on the part of the manufacturer when it comes to mass production.

Thus, speedometers with oversized top speeds are also simple and commonplace savings in mass car models.

Questions and answers:

What does the speedometer show? The speedometer has an analogue scale (in the digital version, there can be a scale emulation or digital values ​​are displayed), which indicates the speed at which the car is moving.

How does the speedometer count? It depends on the car model. In some cars for this there is a cable connected to the drive shaft of the box, in others the speed is determined by signals from ABS sensors, etc.