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Technology known as Intelligent Speed Adaptation or ISA is about to be tested by Transport for London, starting in the summer of 2009 on all roads inside the M25. Drivers who have the device fitted will be able to select an option that stops them driving over the speed limit. Saga car insurance investigates whether this new technology will work or not.
London, UK (PRWeb UK) July 1, 2009 -- So what will the device actually do? It will automatically slow the vehicle down if the driver unknowingly exceeds the limit and is likely to be offered for sale next year to private motorists, too. A good move for those with six or nine penalty points might choose to have it installed to avoid an automatic six-month driving ban for receiving 12 points within three years. This means that motor insurance policies, from car insurance providers like Saga, should stay intact for high risk drivers.
Transport for London believes that the 6 month trial of ISA could have a dramatic effect in reducing the number of road casualties within the London area by at least 10%. It is also believed that the improvement in road safety could reduce congestion and vehicles that drive slower produce less pollution. Another bonus to ISA is that even if only a small number of vehicles are fitted with the device, overall, drivers behind those vehicles would have to reduce speed too.
Transport for London’s trial will include a London bus, a licensed taxi and 20 cars driven by road engineers, traffic managers and highway inspectors. If the trial demonstrates clear safety and environmental benefits, bus companies and taxi operators could either be obliged to equip their vehicles with ISA or be given incentives to do so.
Chris Lines, head of TfL’s road safety unit, said: "This innovative technology could help any driver in London avoid the unnecessary penalties of creeping over the speed limit and at the same time will save lives.
"We know the technology works and now we want to know how drivers in all types of vehicles respond to it. ISA is intended as a road safety device, but if Londoners embrace this technology we may well see additional benefits, including reduced congestion as a result of collisions and reduced vehicle emissions as drivers adopt a smoother driving style."
Transport for London stated that it had no plans to insist on the device being fitted to any vehicle and hoped that drivers would agree to do so voluntarily Thousands of taxis, buses and council vehicles could be fitted with devices that prevent them from exceeding the speed limit.
Good news for the environment. Good news for road safety. And good news for car insurance companies, too.
### Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/saga/car-insurance/prweb2599024.htm.
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