OSPE - The Voice - Summer 2013 - (Page 24)

EnGInEErInG IntEllIGEnCE CAN WE ENGINEER BETTER DRIVERS? New innovation helps drivers reduce risk, save on insurance Since the first Model T rolled off the Ford assembly line on September 27, 1908, engineers have been on the vanguard of improving automotive safety. from seatbelts to anti-lock brakes, to air bags, to on-board collision avoidance systems, each innovation has made vehicles safer and more efficient than Henry could have ever imagined. Engineers make safer cars, but can they also help people become better drivers? A program recently introduced in Ontario by The Personal Insurance Company is showing interesting results. The program is called IntelAuto™ and is a usage-based insurance program. This means that a driver’s premium is based partially on actual driving habits. The system uses an in-car device to collect real-time information about an individual’s driving patterns, such as time of day use and mileage. The information is transmitted wirelessly, via satellite, to the insurance company’s back-end server and is used to adjust the driver’s insurance premium. This exchange of data generally results in a discount of 12 to 25 per cent. An unExPECtEd bEnEFIt With the introduction of the IntelAuto device, an unexpected benefit has emerged. Because drivers using the system can access their driving information through an online personal “dashboard,” they can take steps to adjust their behaviour — avoiding hard stops and starts, for example, or driving at less risky times of the day. Vehicle owners now have both the financial motivation and the feedback they need to drive safer. 2 4 TheVoice Summer 2013 thE SCIEnCE bEhInd thE SyStEM IntelAuto integrates telecommunication and informatics — a combination known as telematics. Automotive writer Dennis Foy defined telematics most succinctly as “the transmission of useful information to and from a vehicle.” This first became possible in the 1990s with the convergence of GPS, cell phone technology and the Internet. Telematics emerged as a way to link private automobiles to satellitebased technologies via wireless connectivity. While the technology is sophisticated, the process is simple for the driver. IntelAuto participants simply plug the cell phone-sized telematic device into their car’s OnBoard Diagnostic port. All vehicles built after 1998 come equipped with these ports. The device transmits three data points: how far the car is driven, the times of day it’s driven and the driver’s braking and accelerating patterns. “Not only can our customers lower their rates,” says John West, Vice President – Business Development, The Personal Insurance Company, “they can actually become better drivers.” For more information on how OSPE members can take advantage of this exciting innovation from The Personal, visit intelauto.ca or call 1 855 801-8830. http://www.intelauto.ca

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of OSPE - The Voice - Summer 2013

OSPE - The Voice - Summer 2013
Contents
Viewpoint
Newsbytes
Anne Sado, P.Eng.
National Engineering Month Ontario 2013
Engaging Tomorrow’s Engineers
Student Ambassador Profile
Innovation
The OSPE Research and Innovation Guide
The Advocacy Agenda
Maintaining and Expanding Our Engineering Capability
Engineers as Leaders
Why Throw It Away?
Connecting with Queen’s Park
Can We Engineer Better Drivers?
Insuring Your Work
Closing the Gap
Bridging the Gap
Learn, Develop, Grow Your Career
Grow Your Engineering Team

OSPE - The Voice - Summer 2013