ISA: a panacea for speeding or a step towards a big brother future?

Breaking the speed limit could become a thing of the past for millions of drivers if Intelligent Speed Adaptation technology is made available, suggests a new report. But just how might such a system be implemented and will it find favour with motorists? William Ainslie reports

By William Ainslie

16 January 2009

In the ISA trials, volunteer drivers were notified of the local speed limit by a dashboard display

Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) could make a major contribution to cutting road accidents and help reduce carbon dioxide emissions, according to a new report commissioned by the Government’s advisory bodies, the Commission for Integrated Transport and the Motorists’ Forum.

The report claims that injury accident savings of up to 29% could be achieved by the installation of mandatory ISA across all the vehicles in the UK, with a 12% reduction if a voluntary system was fitted...