[for immediate release]

A national motoring organization has criticized state governments for trialling a device that can automatically detect a speeding car with satellite technology. The Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) technology uses GPS and a database that identifies speed limits on all roads. The supposed objective is to prevent vehicles from exceeding the speed limit.

National Motorists Association of Australia (NMAA) spokesman, Michael Lane, said the system is likely to increase new car prices by between $700 and $2,000 per vehicle. He also said that when you take control away from the driver and you don't know the circumstances that the driver is going to be affected by, there is a grave risk of decreasing safety rather than increasing it.

All state and territory governments are reported to be involved in the initiative by the supplier of this technology. However, Mr Lane said the vehicle manufacturing industry was not consulted about the trials.

Mr Lane said that any industry-wide vehicle standard to install GPS speed detection and speed limiters would have to be mandated federally, however, state governments could use ISA technology to apply speeding fines. The automatic assumption of guilt, as now applies to speed camera fines, would see state government coffers boosted. He suggested that perhaps the main reason ISA is being promoted is to reinforce the perception that speed is the only factor that needs to be targeted, and hence justify even more revenue collection.

The NMAA believes that the massive complexity and the scope for errors in the system is far worse than in speed cameras. The suppliers of ISA technology may not be immune from liability if their devices fail or malfunction. The NMAA also doubts that state governments will be willing to run the gauntlet on liability. Mr Lane said that they may be introducing another potential cause of road deaths. There are instances where increasing your speed may be necessary to avoid a potential accident. An example is overtaking a semi-trailer on the open highway. Having only a 10 kph speed differential means driving on the wrong side of the road for 1300 metres. And the distance on the wrong side of the road is 2000 metres for a B-Double truck. Imagine overtaking a truck, with another car behind you, and you find the accelerator pedal doesn't work any more. It is a recipe for disaster.

Mr Lane said that road safety research shows that the ISA system can only reduce the incidence of fatal crashes by up to 8 percent and serious injury crashes by up to 6 percent and that figure is based on the assumption that every car on the road has this technology. He asked why should drivers be forced to accept price increases of up to $2,000 when the best that could be hoped for is an 8 per cent reduction in fatal crashes. Wouldn’t it make more sense to concentrate resources on eliminating the causes of 92 per cent of fatalities?

UK crash analysis shows that only 5% of injury crashes are caused by speed over posted limit. So the ISA system is not likely to achieve any more than a 5 per cent reduction in injury crashes. In terms of nett benefit analysis, there is a list of negative aspects of ISA technology. The associated frustration of motorists is likely to increase road rage and to increase the incidence of high risk overtaking manoeuvres.

The belief being promoted is that if every driver can be controlled in a way that prevents them ever exceeding the speed limit, we will all be much safer. This reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of the issues of road safety, Mr Lane said. The very low percentages of fatalities caused by speeding are clearly quoted in research documents.

Mr Lane stated that instead of spending our money on speed limitation devices, we should provide a full suite of air bags and electronic stability control in every vehicle. For its part, the state government should be promoting advanced driver training and improving our road network with more overtaking lanes and divided dual carriageways.

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