Research from Britain’s leading vehicle telematics firm Quartix Holdings plc (LON:QTX) shows that experienced motorists are setting their own speed limit, well under the official limit, on some of the UK’s deadliest roads.
The study applies to rural, single lane carriageways with a 60mph speed limit, widely known to be the UK’s most dangerous roads, with more deaths and serious injuries occurring on them than any other.
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It shows that more experienced drivers are aware that it is not always safe to drive at or near the speed limit - something learned over a period of years.
But younger drivers, who do not always have the knowledge to drive at the speeds set by other more experienced drivers, are often taught to drive ‘to the limit’ and this can be dangerous and often life threatening.
As a result, insurers are increasingly requiring younger drivers to fit a telematics device to their vehicle so they can monitor their driving style and intervene when they break the legal speed limit.
Quartix’s telematics devices, however, measure how fast a vehicle is travelling based on the true safe driving speed of a particular road which can be up to 20mph slower than the speed limit.
This is known as ‘contextual speed scoring’ and allows insurers to intervene and contact a young driver - and their parents - if they are consistently driving at an unsafe speed - regardless of the speed limit.
Parents giving “worst possible advice”
Commenting on the research, Andy Walters, Quartix’s CEO said: “In many ways, parents telling their children to ‘stick to the speed limit’ is the worst possible advice they can give.
“In an ideal world parents would be in the car alongside their children at all times to advise them on when to slow down and when it’s safe to go faster.
“We know that’s impossible and that’s why Quartix is deploying virtual parents to fill that gap.”
The Quartix survey was published on the same day another report said the cost of car insurance has soared by 11% over the past year, taking the cost of motor cover to a record high.
UK drivers are paying an average £484 for an annual insurance policy, up £48 in the last 12 months, according to the Association of British Insurers.
The increase is the biggest year-on-year rise since the ABI began tracking premiums for private cars in 2012.
It laid much of the blame on changes to compensation rules and an increase in insurance premium tax.