Dive Brief:

• A New York City pilot program testing intelligent speed assistance technology on 50 city fleet vehicles has resulted in near-universal compliance with local speed laws to date, the city announced last week. 
• City light, medium and heavy-duty trucks drove over 133,400 miles using ISA technology — which adjusts vehicle speeds to local speed limits — since the launch of the pilot program last August. During that time, hard-braking events were reduced by 36% and vehicles complied with local speed limits 99% of the time, with the 1% representing the time between the initial acceleration and the time it takes for the ISA to reduce the speed. 
• “Our intelligent speed assistance pilot program has successfully prevented speeding and reduced instances of unsafe driving,” said Department of Citywide Administrative Services Commissioner Dawn Pinnock in a statement. “We are inspired by this success and look forward to a complete assessment of the pilot in the months to come.”

Dive Insight:

Cities throughout the U.S. have been working to implement vision zero plans aimed at eliminating traffic deaths. Recently released National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data showed traffic deaths dipped slightly during the first nine months of 2022. However, fatalities increased by 2% among pedestrians and 8% among cyclists.

New York City has been trying to increase safety by operators of city fleets. The ISA pilot program is part of the city’s Safe Fleet Transition Plan for city fleet vehicles, which was updated in 2018. 

Improved compliance with speed limits and reduced hard-braking events showed vehicles engaged in unsafe driving situations less often and drivers were more focused on the road, the city stated in a press release. The technology worked for light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles, according to the city.

Operators pressed an override button that temporarily disables ISA for 15 seconds about 600 times during the pilot, most of which occurred near the start of the pilot’s launch. DCAS will assess the use of the override button and the circumstances that prompted operators to press it.

After the pilot program ends early next year, DCAS will co-author a report with a U.S. Department of Transportation official outlining the results, the city stated. The city department has also requested federal grant funding to broaden the rollout of ISA technology for about 7,500 fleet vehicles over three or four years.