Two-thirds of UK drivers happy with Intelligent Speed Assistance tech

A survey for the UK road safety campaigners Brake has shown that 63% of drivers would be happy for Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) technology to help prevent them speeding while driving.

The survey found 32% of drivers are willing to have a mandatory ISA system that cannot be overridden, while a further 31% would be interested in an overridable form of the system. Several vehicles already on the market, including the Ford S-Max and Volvo XC-90, already have such a feature.

Trials have predicted that overridable ISA could reduce road deaths by 21% and mandatory ISA could reduce deaths by 46%.

Gary Rae, director of campaigns at Brake, said: “ISA represents a game-changer for road safety, with the potential to make all other speed enforcement unnecessary and prevent nearly half the devastating deaths on our roads.

“As speed is at least an aggravating factor in almost all road crashes, this technology could make our roads much safer for everyone, and prevent thousands of senseless casualties every year if rolled out systematically.”

The EU has not updated safety requirements for new vehicles since 2009, ETSC is calling for overridable ISA to be a mandatory requirement in new rules to be announced later this year.