Forget cameras - spy device will cut drivers’ speed by satellite - Sunday Times - Times Online: "
Forget cameras - spy device will cut drivers’ speed by satellite
Dipesh Gadher, Transport Correspondent
IT IS the ultimate back seat driver. Motorists face having their cars fitted with a “spy” device that stops speeding.
The satellite-based system will monitor the speed limit and apply the brakes or cut out the accelerator if the driver tries to exceed it. A government-funded trial has concluded that the scheme promotes safer driving.
Drivers in London could be among the first to have the “speed spy” devices fitted. They would be offered a discount on the congestion charge if they use the system.
The move follows a six-month trial in Leeds using 20 modified Skoda Fabias, which found that volunteer drivers paid more attention as well keeping to the speed limit. More than 1,000 lives a year could be saved if the system was fitted to all Britain’s cars, say academics at Leeds University, who ran the trial on behalf of the Department for Transport (DfT).
It is part of a two-year research project into “intelligent speed adaptation” (ISA), which the department is funding at a cost of 2m. Results of the initial trial will be presented to ministers this week.
A study commissioned by London’s transport planners has recommended that motorists who install it should be rewarded with a discount on the congestion charge, which tomorrow rises to 8 a day."
Forget cameras - spy device will cut drivers’ speed by satellite
Dipesh Gadher, Transport Correspondent
IT IS the ultimate back seat driver. Motorists face having their cars fitted with a “spy” device that stops speeding.
The satellite-based system will monitor the speed limit and apply the brakes or cut out the accelerator if the driver tries to exceed it. A government-funded trial has concluded that the scheme promotes safer driving.
Drivers in London could be among the first to have the “speed spy” devices fitted. They would be offered a discount on the congestion charge if they use the system.
The move follows a six-month trial in Leeds using 20 modified Skoda Fabias, which found that volunteer drivers paid more attention as well keeping to the speed limit. More than 1,000 lives a year could be saved if the system was fitted to all Britain’s cars, say academics at Leeds University, who ran the trial on behalf of the Department for Transport (DfT).
It is part of a two-year research project into “intelligent speed adaptation” (ISA), which the department is funding at a cost of 2m. Results of the initial trial will be presented to ministers this week.
A study commissioned by London’s transport planners has recommended that motorists who install it should be rewarded with a discount on the congestion charge, which tomorrow rises to 8 a day."
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