IMS has now launched its Young Drivers Intelligence program for road safety among teens.
Intelligent Mechatronic Systems (IMS) has announced the release of its first Young Drivers Intelligence (YDI) program that is working alongside one of the largest auto carriers in the United States for usage based insurance.
The goal is to help to encourage new drivers to make safer driving choices.
The program applies usage ba
sed insurance technology, where the driver behaviors are monitored through a wireless device that transmits data back to the insurer. This monitoring rewards drivers for their safe and low risk driving behaviors by providing them with discounted rates on their policies.
The usage based insurance technique with the IMS Young Drivers Intelligence Program has high potential.
It installs a small device, called the IMS DriveSync, on the vehicle so that driving and driver data can be collected. This can then provide teen drivers with real time, in-vehicle feedback regarding their driving choices via voice. It can also allow them to use an online portal to check their driving scores and progress and to receive additional tips to help them to improve their safety skills while on the road.
This is also providing parents with peace of mind, as they can use the program to receive email or text alerts to advise them of certain specific behaviors by their teens, such as exceeding a curfew, moving outside of a designated driving area, braking hard, or speeding.
Mobile options are also available for smartphone users, as there is a mobile app offered by IMS that offers the same alert and program options. So far, research has shown that teens using the program have a 20 percent lower risk of being involved in an accident when they are being monitored by one of these wireless devices.
The initial launch of the IMS Young Drivers Intelligence Program will make it available to the thousands of teens living within three states. However, once it reaches full deployment across a much larger number of states, it could possibly serve hundreds of thousands of adolescent motorists. The hope is that this usage based insurance technique will help to significantly reduce the risk of teens being in accidents, and that the severity of any collisions that do occur will be notably lowered.