London testing technology to control drivers' speed, reduce emissions

Transport for London is beginning a six-month trial of a speed control technology called Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA) as a means to reduce fuel consumption, emissions, and traffic accidents.

ISA works with GPS systems to import current speed limit maps for the city and to stop vehicle acceleration once the current speed limit is met. The technology can be set to an advisory mode where the current speed limit is simply displayed on the dash or a manual override switch allows the driver to turn the system off completely.

Transport for London is trying out the technology in taxis, buses, and select service vehicles. The trial will monitor the effect that the system has on emissions and road safety. The trial report will then go to the Mayor of London and the technology may be made available to other organizations.

It's expected that the technology will benefit road safety much more than it will reduce emissions or fuel consumption, but the organization is hoping that to see improvements in those areas too.

via Green Car Congress