Transport Canada is set to begin testing a vehicle speed monitor that offers motorists an incentive to drive safely: reward points.

Otto is a portable road safety device using GPS technology to provide information about the driving environment.
(Persen Technologies)

The technology, first tested in the Netherlands, monitors both the speed and following distance of the vehicle, said Vittoria Battista, a research engineer with Transport Canada.

The device indicates through lights on the dashboard whether drivers are obeying speed limits and keeping a safe distance behind the cars they're following. Drivers accumulate points for every 15 seconds they maintain both safe speed and following distance, Battista told CBC News.

"Rather than give a warning, the system offers a reward," said Battista. "You accumulate these points, and these points can be converted into reward points, which could then be exchanged for gifts or some other reward."

The research, to be conducted in a six-month trial in Ottawa to begin "imminently," is part of an effort at Transport Canada to assess the quality of speed limiters, which have come under increased scrutiny as a means of deterring unsafe driving and reducing traffic accidents.

How it works

Speed monitors must be able to tap into data on road and highway speed limits and relate that information to the speed of the vehicle. Devices differ in how they collect that information and how they influence drivers to alter their speeds.

Transport Canada tested two devices last year that used Global Positioning System technology to monitor the speed of the vehicle in relation to a speed map of Ottawa.

One of the devices — Winnipeg-based Persentech's Otto driving companion — gives a combination of an audio warning and an indicator light when the driver exceeds the speed limit. The Otto is attached to the vehicle's dashboard and requires little effort to install.

The other device — the Imita, manufactured in Sweden — connects the monitoring system to the throttle of the vehicle, providing resistance on the accelerator when the speed limit is exceeded.

In both devices, the driver could still exceed the speed limit if that were required, Battista said.

Transport Canada's report on the GPS-based Otto and Imita came out last December but was not released to the public, though Battista did say both technologies had problems that would have to be resolved.

The carrot, not the stick

The technology to be tested this fall also uses GPS, but attempts to sway the driver with a carrot, not a stick.

The results of an earlier trial in the Netherlands using the reward system were encouraging, said representatives of the Netherlands Ministry of Transport in a paper submitted to the U.S. Transportation Research Board's annual meeting in Washington in 2006.

According to authors Undine Mazureck and Jan van Hattem, vehicles using the reward points system travelled within the speed limit 86 per cent of the time, compared to 68 per cent of the time without the system. The number of kilometres driven at a safe distance from the car in front (1.3 seconds apart) rose from 58 per cent to 77 per cent.

The study, however, found some issues with GPS and speed map accuracy. And when the reward system was removed toward the end of the trial, the researchers found most drivers lapsed into old habits.

Who pays?

The cost of the devices is another issue that would have to be considered, but it's a question that's difficult to answer right now because so many of the devices are prototypes, said Boase. The Otto is a commercially available product and retails for $224.99.

Similarly, it's too early to speculate on how much it would cost to operate a points-based reward system, Boase said.

Boase said that he doesn't expect to see the technology become standard in vehicles soon, and that it's more likely to turn up as a remedy for people charged with repeated or severe speeding violations.

"My guess is that's the first place we'll see it," he said.

For now, researchers are primarily concerned with whether or not the systems work.

One of the issues with speed limiters that use GPS is their reliance on downloading up-to-date speed-limit maps of cities or municipalities, said Battista.

A potentially better option would be for the latest speed data to be transmitted from road signs or roadside beacons, she said, allowing for up-to-date information on speed changes due to construction, weather or other issues. A system using this method has been tested in Sweden, she said.

But Battista and Boase both cautioned that more complete maps are needed in North America before the technology could be used effectively.

"At this time, I don't think we're there quite yet," Battista said.

Government goals

The research is being done as part of the mandate of the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators — a joint federal, provincial and territorial organization — to reduce motor vehicle fatalities 30 per cent from 2001 levels by 2010, said Paul Boase, Transport Canada's chair of road users.

Such a reduction would reduce total annual motor vehicle fatalities to about 2,100 from 2,900, he said.

"Speed affects both whether the collision occurs and also the injury outcome, because the faster you drive, the more likely you are to seriously injure or kill someone," Boase told CBC News.

Earlier this summer, Ontario Transportation Minister Donna Cansfield said the provincial government would make the use of speed limiters mandatory for all large commercial vehicles. The pledge came after the Canadian Trucking Alliance, which represents major transport companies, called for the devices to be installed and set to a maximum speed of 105 km/h.

While groups such as the Canada Safety Council and the Lung Association have supported Ontario's plan, others, such as the Owner-Operator's Business Association of Canada, which represents independent truck operators, have said the devices would put them at a competitive disadvantage when travelling to the United States, where posted speeds can be higher.

Barry Prentice, head of the University of Manitoba's transport institute, also warned that limiting truck speeds could cause more accidents as other drivers try to overtake the slower vehicles.

"We'll have all these other yahoos trying to pass trucks left, right and centre, especially on two-lane roads," Prentice said.

Last week, Ottawa and the provinces announced the beginning of another Transport Canada study this fall to determine whether slowing down big trucks with speed limiters will hurt Canada's competitive position with the United States.

Boase said they would also be looking at traffic flow to see if slower-moving trucks would lead to more friction between cars and trucks.

With files from the Canadian Press