In the last few years, technology has changed almost everything around us. For instance, it has completely changed the way we used to spend money, communicate or even drive. In this article, we will talk about the impact and effects of technology on road safety. Certain technologies like telematics have revolutionized both motor insurance and road safety.
Telematics provides crucial information about certain driving behavior and therefore, improves road safety. The use of telematics has made our insurance products much better and roads much safer. Before we discuss how telematics improves road safety, we should talk about some general characteristics of telematics. Let us give you a basic overview of telematics.
A Basic Overview of Telematics
Basically, the term ‘telematics’ refers to the process of sending or transmitting computer-based information over very long distances. In fact, the term ‘telematics’ also refers to certain technologies which help in sending, storing and receiving information through different kinds of telecommunication devices. Telematics also provides better control of remote objects. When we talk about telematics with regard to road safety, we are actually talking about integrated use of telecommunications and informatics for numerous automobile applications, including better control over vehicles as they are on the move.
In order to use telematics for our benefit and improve road safety, it is extremely important to understand that telematics is not just limited to Global Positioning System or GPS. Although telematics plays a major role in GPS technologies integrated with computers and mobile communication in automobiles, it is still much more than that. In simple words, telematics may be referred to various vehicle systems including GPS navigations systems, emergency warning systems, driving assistance systems, wireless safety communication, fleet tracking systems, fault detection systems and so on. In the last few years, many automobile companies have realized the importance of telematics for improving road safety. In the next section of this article, we will discuss various ways in which telematics can help improve road safety.
Ways in which Telematics can Improve Road Safety
According to industry experts, telematics can play a crucial role in traffic management. Telematics can help drivers use a lot of services including parking management, automatic toll transactions, usage-based insurance, on-board entertainment and many more. Road traffic safety has always been a major concern for people all around the world. It is not only crucial for injury prevention and public health, but also improves efficiencies in traffic management.
In the last few years, a lot of efforts have been made in the field of Intelligent Transport Systems. These efforts and measures have resulted in enhanced driver safety by utilising a combination of communications, computers, positioning and automation technologies. Many measure to improve road safety also include development of new standards for safe user interfaces, radars in automobiles for avoiding collisions and inclusion of high-tech communication systems in most of the vehicles. Telematics has also resulted in optimising driving performance. It has eliminated unsafe and unnecessary distractions related to technology.
According to industry experts, there are also many other ways in which telematics has helped improve road safety and driving performance. Telematics allows tracking of wind speed, vehicles’ speed, moisture on the road because of oil spills and so on. It even provides wide angle cameras and emergency call services to keep a driver safe on the road. All these systems can be integrated into one highway management system.
With telematics, a driver can easily receive all this information through a basic pre-registered SIM card. There are many applications which can easily send warning signals to a driver’s smartphone when a vehicle’s tyre pressure or oil needs checking. Certain apps can even send a driver’s trip plans to the vehicle’s Global Positioning Navigation system. Most of the experts believe that it is even possible to develop various solutions related to accidents, traffic congestion and emergency services. All these measures will change the way we currently consider highways and expressways by making them much safer and faster.
Due to all these benefits, the demand for telematics has been significantly growing in almost every part of the world. In fact, many professional fleets and other such lines of businesses have already implemented this technology. Some automobile companies even use this technology in passenger cars. For people seeking more safety and greater efficiency, telematics is the perfect solution.
