What's the news?
AIG Insurance has carried out a survey on its customers and found that three-quarters of respondents felt that learner and new drivers should have telematic monitoring devices installed in their cars.
More than 1,000 people responded to the survey and it showed a positive attitude towards monitored driving behaviour, with 77 per cent agreeing that telematics make the roads safer and prevent accidents, while 70 per cent said universal adoption of telematics will ensure more drivers and pedestrians are alive by 2022, as a result of safer roads.
Further, more than 80 per cent of respondents said they would be willing to install telematics in their cars if there was a reduction in insurance costs associated with that, although half of these people said they would need to know more about the entire scope of telematics before making a final decision.
The AIG survey comes as the Road Safety Authority reports that 47 learner drivers have been involved in fatal accidents on Irish roads in the last three years.
Anything else?
Declan O'Rourke, general manager of AIG Ireland, said: "In 2017, AIG called for mandatory telematics for young drivers [under the age of 25] to reduce accidents and save lives. We believe making telematics mandatory is like putting a Garda on every road in the country, without any cost to the state. AIG and many other insurers have the technology to monitor driving in real-time. Policies are cancelled for excessive speeding over 160km/h and safe driving is rewarded with lower insurance prices."
Aidan Connaughton, head of personal insurance for AIG Ireland, added: "Our real-time crash reporting technology gives us the ability to immediately respond to serious accidents and, potentially, save lives. Utilising our outbound responder team, we can make contact with the driver and/or the emergency services, enabling a fast response to serious crashes any time of the day or night."