A six-month trial of Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) technology, which aims to reduce road casualties and help drivers avoid speeding penalties, is to be launched in London.
 
As part of the trial, which will be launched this summer by Transport for London (TfL), a London bus will be fitted with ISA.

The TfL Road Safety Unit is also keen to trial the technology in a licensed taxi, alongside 20 TfL vehicles driven by road engineers, traffic managers and highway inspectors.
 
The intelligent technology enables drivers to select an option where acceleration is stopped automatically at the speed limit specific to any road in London within the M25 area.

The unit can be disabled at the touch of a button, at which point it reverts to an advisory status where the current, legal speed limit is displayed as a driver aid. There is also a complete over-ride switch with disables the system entirely.
 
The practical uses of the technology will be tested in the six-month trial after which a report will be submitted to London Mayor Boris Johnson, and the technology will be made available to external organisations.

Southwark Council has already expressed an interest in fitting ISA to more than 300 of its fleet vehicles.  

The trial will monitor driver behaviour, journey times and the effect that driving within the speed limit has on vehicle emissions.
 
The results of the trial will be published in spring next year and ISA technology could also be made available in 2010.

The dangers of texting while driving are highlighted in a new hard-hitting Government Think! campaign.

Using a mobile phone at the wheel is considered the second most unacceptable driving behaviour among motorists with 93% agreeing that texting while driving is dangerous. However, 12% of all motorists admit to texting while driving.

Road Safety Minister Jim Fitzpatrick said: “It doesn’t matter how good a driver you are, if you text while driving then you cannot be giving the road your full attention.

“The message that mobile phones and driving should not mix is getting through to the majority of drivers but some people are still needlessly risking their own lives and putting others in danger for the sake of a text or a call.

“Our message to all drivers is simple: Don’t use your mobile phone when you’re driving.”

Using a hand-held mobile phone while driving was made illegal in December 2003. Section 26 of the Road Safety Act 2006 increased the fixed penalty for drivers using a hand held phone or similar device from  February 27, 2007 from £30 to £60 and three penalty points.

The same changes were made to the penalties for the offence of not being in a position to have proper control of a vehicle - a measure which can be used where a driver has been distracted by using a hands-free mobile phone.

If the police or the driver chooses to take a case to court rather than use a fixed penalty notice, the penalty on conviction is three points, discretionary disqualification and a maximum fine of £1,000 (£2,500 for drivers of vans, lorries, buses and coaches).

The new Government and motor industry-funded vehicle scrappage scheme is unlikely to destabilise residual values, according to used car pricing experts at EurotaxGlass’s and CAP.

Some industry commentators have suggested that the prices being asked for nearly-new cars would appear prohibitively high next to the price of new cars discounted under the scrappage scheme. 

However, according to Adrian Rushmore, managing editor at EurotaxGlass’s, prices for used cars are unlikely to be negatively impacted. 

He said: “The majority of consumers already interested in purchasing a nearly-new car will not be existing owners of cars 10 years or older, and will therefore not be eligible for the scrappage bonus. For this reason demand will not switch from late-plate to new vehicles, harming late-plate values.”

It’s a view shared by CAP, which believes the scrappage scheme will have a ‘limited impact’ on both the new and used car markets.

CAP experts agree that the bulk of new car demand stimulation will be for the cheapest small cars, while in the case of light commercial vehicles CAP is sceptical that many tradespeople with 10+ year old vans will switch straight into a new vehicle, due to financial pressures and the inability, in some cases, to obtain credit.

A CAP spokesman said: “Any nearly new car or van of the type for which most new car demand will be stimulated will see its value reduce. Residual value reductions will therefore be limited to later used examples of the cheapest small new cars and vans.”