A reduction in road casualties and the avoidance of speeding penalties – these are the key targets behind Transport for London’s (TFL) six-month trial of Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) technology.
The trial, which will begin this summer, will include a London bus being fitted with an ISA which works in conjunction with a GPS to enable the driver to select an option where acceleration is stopped automatically at the speed limit specific to any road in London within the M25 area.
This unit can be disabled at the touch of a button and there is also an override system to disable it entirely. It is also hoped that the technology will be trialled in a licensed taxi along with 20 TFL vehicles driven by road engineers, highway inspectors and traffic managers.
In addition, the trial will be used to monitor driver behaviour, journey times and the effect that driving within the speed limit has on emissions.
It is hoped that other GPS manufacturers will take advantage of this technology which could reduce road casualties by around 10 per cent, according to estimates, if two thirds of London drivers use the system.
Research on ISA technology has now been ongoing for more than 10 years and includes a major ISA-UK project funded by the Department for Transport between 2001 and 2006. It is believed by University of Leeds researchers that the social benefits of the accident savings far outweigh any CO2 reduction benefits.
