The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued a call for the implementation of intelligent speed assistance technology (ISA) in all new cars. This recommendation comes in the wake of a tragic multi-vehicle collision in North Las Vegas, Nevada, last year that resulted in nine fatalities.
ISA uses a car’s GPS location compared with a database of posted speed limits and its onboard cameras to help ensure safe and legal speeds. Passive ISA systems warn a driver when the vehicle exceeds the speed limit through visual, sound, or haptic alerts, and the driver is responsible for slowing the car. Active systems include mechanisms that make it more difficult, but not impossible, to increase the speed of a vehicle above the posted speed limit and those that electronically limit the speed of the vehicle to fully prevent drivers from exceeding the speed limit.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy stated, “This crash is the latest in a long line of tragedies we’ve investigated where speeding and impairment led to catastrophe, but it doesn’t have to be this way. We know the key to saving lives is redundancy, which can protect all of us from human error that occurs on our roads. What we lack is the collective will to act on NTSB safety recommendations.”
In 2021, crashes related to speeding caused 12,330 deaths—approximately one-third of all traffic fatalities in the US. Along with ISA, the NTSB has urged regulators to update speed limit guidance regulations and expand the deployment of speed safety cameras. The NTSB has also emphasized the importance of enhancing data, laws, and enforcement to tackle drug-impaired driving.
On Jan. 29, 2022, a 2018 Dodge Challenger entered an intersection near North Las Vegas, Nevada, against a red traffic signal with a vehicle recorded speed of 103 mph, causing a multi-vehicle collision with five other vehicles. Seven occupants of a minivan and the Challenger’s driver and passenger died as a result of the crash. The driver of the Challenger was determined to have been impaired by cocaine and PCP and had a history of multiple speeding offenses.
Following the investigation, the NTSB is issuing eight new and one reiterated recommendation to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, one new recommendation to states, and one new recommendation to manufacturers.The NTSB’s comprehensive, multiply-redundant approach to tackle speeding would have ISA installed in new vehicles to give drivers passive warnings about driving above the posted limit or take active measures to reduce the vehicle’s speed to the posted limit.
The NTSB is calling on the federal government to start incentivizing carmakers to put smart speed limiter systems in new cars. The speed limiter program works through telematics. Stored data on local speed limits is cross-referenced with a car’s GPS position. New cars should at least have mandated passive ISA technology that provides speeding alerts to drivers.
Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) technology has been shown to have a significant impact on road safety. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) cites that when ISA is used alongside other active safety features, collisions could be reduced by 30%. The Norwegian Institute of Transport Economics and Research claims that widespread use of the technology will cut traffic collisions by 30% and fatalities by 20%.
In a pilot program launched in New York City, vehicles utilizing ISA drove over 133,400 miles and successfully traveled within speed limit parameters 99 percent of the time. The use of ISA technology also accounted for a 36 percent reduction in hard braking events, which is often an indicator of unsafe driving.
These findings underscore the potential of ISA in enhancing road safety and reducing traffic accidents. As more vehicles incorporate this technology, we can expect a significant decrease in speed-related incidents, making our roads safer for everyone.
Relevant articles:
– NTSB Calls for Technology to Reduce Speeding in All New Cars
– NTSB again urges car speed-limiter tech – Autoblog
– NTSB pushes to enforce speed limits across the country with new technology
– ISA – Intelligent Speed Assistance Systems | TomTom Newsroom
– Mayor Adams Announces Results of Successful Pilot Program to Reduce …
– Speed – IIHS-HLDI