Skip to main content

Drivers sceptical of EU vehicle control safety benefits, claims IAM research

Three quarters of UK drivers are concerned that the use of Intelligent Speed Adaptations (ISAs) will compromise safety, according to research by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM). Last month, the EU announced that they were considering rules for new cars to be installed with Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) technology. The technology would be capable of detecting limits through cameras or satellites and automatically applying the brakes. Existing vehicles could be forced to be retrofitted with
October 28, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Three quarters of UK drivers are concerned that the use of Intelligent Speed Adaptations (ISAs) will compromise safety, according to research by the 5125 Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM).

Last month, the 3287 EU announced that they were considering rules for new cars to be installed with Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) technology. The technology would be capable of detecting limits through cameras or satellites and automatically applying the brakes. Existing vehicles could be forced to be retrofitted with the devices.

The IAM claim that 78% of drivers don’t want to see the retro fitting of ISA technology onto older vehicles.

The UK’s leading road safety charity’s research also found that 57% of drivers felt that ISAs won’t have a positive impact on road safety – avoiding crashes, deaths and injuries.

However, there is overwhelming support for ISAs when vehicle control remains with the driver. Sixty-seven per cent of respondents would prefer ISAs to operate with warning messages with no control of the vehicle.

Respondents do feel that there are some benefits to ISAs. Fifty-two per cent see a reduced likelihood of speeding convictions and less money spent on traffic calming measures such as road humps.

Thirty-one per cent of respondents feel that, if enforced, ISAs should be restricted to younger drivers, newly qualified drivers and drivers with previous road-related convictions.

IAM chief executive Simon Best said, “ISAs could help to save lives but it’s clear that drivers remain dubious about the benefits of the technology.  More research into the benefits would help to reassure the public that this will improve road safety.

”Unfortunately, over a third of respondents see this as a way of controlling drivers, I believe if drivers are trained properly and have access to on-going learning, the government would not need to enforce ISAs.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • IAM suggests confusion over UK’s SMART motorways
    April 13, 2015
    The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has expressed concern that widespread confusion exists amongst UK drivers on how best to use SMART motorways. These were officially introduced around this time in 2014 to replace Managed Motorways as the solution to the UK’s congested major routes. However concerns have been raised over the safety of the SMART motorways. England’s first all-lane running motorway, without a hard shoulder, was the 2.5km stretch of the M25 between junctions 23 and 25. Complete schemes
  • UK death rate not falling fast enough in The Reported Road Casualties Great Britain Report 2013
    September 26, 2014
    Road safety lobby groups have criticised Britain for pushing down its annual road fatality rate by a further 2% in the past year, the lowest figure since records began in 1926. The Reported Road Casualties Great Britain 2013 (RRCGB) Annual Report, published in September 2014, reveals that 1,713 people were killed in road accidents in the country during 2013, with the number of people seriously injured down by 6% to 21,657 versus 2012.
  • New report suggests older drivers are safe
    December 4, 2012
    A new report by the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) in the UK suggests that older drivers are as safe as drivers from all other age groups, and perhaps more so. The study shows older drivers have better attitudes to safety, deal with hazards better than young drivers and use experience to increase their safety margins on the road. The report reveals that drivers over 75 react just as quickly as other age groups when a vehicle emerges from a side road or if the car in front brakes suddenly on a rural r
  • Safety technology to cut crashes
    January 22, 2020
    Bloomberg Philanthropies has commissioned a new road safety report that shows 42,000 lives could be saved and 150,000 serious injuries prevented by 2030.