NYC Speeding, Hard Braking Program Deemed Success

Preliminary results of active intelligent speed assistance (ISA) technology being tested in 50 New York City fleet vehicles have shown success to prevent speeding and reduce instances of unsafe driving. 

Through the first four months of the pilot, which launched in August of 2022, fleet operators abided by the speed limit 99% of the time. Use of ISA technology also accounted for a 36% reduction in hard braking events, which is often an indicator of unsafe driving, according to a press release. 

The outlying one percent represents the operator’s initial acceleration before the ISA technology kicked in and reduced their speed.

The 50 fleet vehicles in the pilot have traveled more than 133,400 miles, with light duty vehicles accounting for 62% of the miles driven, followed by medium duty vehicles traveling 25% of the miles, and heavy-duty vehicles traveling 13% of the miles. The miles traveled indicated a continuity in service delivery despite the new limitations on speed and increased emphasis on safety.

Each participating fleet vehicle features an override button to temporarily disable ISA for 15 seconds, which may be used in hazardous situations. The override button was used approximately 600 times during the pilot. According to the city, use of the button seemed to occur most frequently during the early weeks of the pilot as operators tested and got used to the new technology. NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) stated that it will continue to assess its use and determine what kind of circumstances elicited the override.

The ISA pilot will continue through early next year. At the end of the pilot, DCAS will co-author a report with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center to share the results.

DCAS submitted requests for grant funding from the federal government to broaden the rollout of ISA to approximately 7,500 fleet vehicles over the span of three to four years. If funding is secured, this would be the largest coordinated rollout of ISA technology in the world, according to the release. 

In addition to the Safe Fleet Transition Plan, DCAS has implemented the city’s first fleet CRASH management system — a module used to report collisions by fleet operators; live vehicle tracking devices managed through the Fleet Office of Real Time Tracking; truck safety guards; barring hands-free phone use by fleet operators; and providing safety training to over 76,000 city employees.