Speed warning

A hi-tech system to improve road safety and reduce accidents by warning drivers when they are exceeding the speed limit is to be developed in the East Midlands, thanks to an £83,000 grant.

The development of the so-called Driver Behaviour System by engineers at Derby and Loughborough universities - working with CLC of Loughborough and IDC (Intelligent Distributed Control) of Derby - has been awarded the first Higher Education Collaboration grant by Transport iNet; a business-led network promoting transport equipment development.

The two universities and two businesses will jointly develop the system, which works in real time to provide drivers with up-to-date information about changes in speed limits.

It does so using a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) system that collects speed-limit data from transmitters attached to road signs that is relayed to an electronic reader inside a vehicle. The device then notifies drivers when their speed is above the speed limit.

Mian Hong Wu, professor in Intelligent Systems and Engineering at Derby University, said: 'The UK Transport Survey indicates that one-third of all fatal crashes are caused by exceeding speed limits, whether that be intentional, unintentional or through underestimating speed. The grant from Transport iNet enables us to work with business and adapt technology that will provide an innovative system to address driver behaviour and reduce road fatalities.'

Transport iNet was established by the East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and East Midlands Innovation, the regional Science and Industry Council set up by emda in 2005.