Road safety revolution and Euro NCAP

I have previously argued that the only true revolution in road safety will come from insurance companies policing road safety using video, GPS tracking, and ECU tracking devices (I've also since mentioned they are now commonly available). There's plenty of evidence that traditional car safety features based on protecting occupancy have two effects. One effect is risk compensation and the other is increased risk to pedestrians and cyclists.

These devices are currently available but their price and quality not currently attractive enough. Fast and significant progress of this technology is inevitable.

Incidentally, it's not just cars that can carry these devices but cyclists and even pedestrians. Handlebar and helmet video cameras are already popular among mountain bikers keen to show off their skills on YouTube. It won't be long before road safety related footage from these devices is common.

These devices will only be common when their cost is exceeded by their savings on insurance. It dawned on me that this need not and should not be so.

Car safety features must meet strict criteria. The cost this adds to the car's final price is massive. Design costs, manufacturing costs, and testing costs all of questionable value themselves but considering they could be substituted for a tracking device that can only be an improvement.

It's not just laws that cause the needless strict criteria. There is plausible evidence that people select cars that "look safe". An arms race of cars sporting ever "chunkier" designs has been under way for some time.

Cars should either meet Euro NCAP (or whatever the minimal EU safety standard is) standards or meet basic standards (good brakes to protect others!) plus a video tracking system. Policing costs could eventually be lowered too. People should be free to expose themselves to whatever risks they want anyway, although this is a compromise that should be acceptable (transitional policy).

I should note there are more advantages. Safety features are a huge barrier to decreasing the cost of travel. Safety features add significant weight (just look at the progression of the Volkswagen Golf) which means cars need more fuel and stop slower. Being able to stop faster will cause risk compensation but remember you're being tracked!

It is the cost of transport that is important not the price of oil which is based on costs associated with accessing limited oil resources. This would be fast, cheap, and major step forward to boosting transport resources.

I would be happy and confident to play guinea pig.