Celent: Usage-Based Auto Insurance Could Help Claims Handling, Pricing
http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2012/01/06/celent-usage-based-auto-insurance-could-help-claim
The benefits of telematics-based auto-insurance products could go beyond better risk selection and pricing, and could include better fraud detection and the ability to provide feedback to consumers on CO2 emissions, fuel consumption and other factors that may lower the cost of driving, according to a Celent report.
In its report, “Telematics-Based Insurance: Has Its Time Finally Arrived?” Celent says insurers are overcoming historic obstacles to offering telematics, or usage-based insurance products. For example, Celent says the cost of devices, installation and servicing has declined, and will continue to fall. The task of transferring data from devices to the insurer has also become easier, as data sent via the 3G network means consumers no longer have to transfer the data themselves to a computer and send it to the insurer.
Even privacy concerns have eased, Celent claims. “Customers’ data-privacy concerns appear to be allayed by the chance of cheaper premiums,” the report notes. It cites a Towers-Watson survey that found nearly two-thirds of U.S.drivers would be willing to alter their driving behavior to achieve a 10 percent insurance discount, and, of those drivers, 76 percent would allow a device in their vehicle to monitor behavior.
As the obstacles are overcome, telematics programs will grow, Celent says. In line with comments made last month by Moody’s, Celent says insurers who do not offer such products will “find themselves insuring shrinking pools of poorer drivers—who will appear to be normal drivers if traditional rating factors are used.”
Celent says insurers’ benefits, though, will go beyond being able to more accurately price risks. “Claims-improvement opportunities include improving fraud detection, for example by using accelerometer readings to gauge the G-force during impacts and settle whiplash claims more accurately; and reducing lead time between accidents and first notice of loss, which increases the likelihood of achieving a speedy and fair settlement before the involvement of third parties,” the report explains.
Celent says location data can also help “sniff out fraud gangs.”
Insurers can also provide insight on what is happening with the vehicle itself, with respect to CO2 emissions and fuel consumption. “This data can be fed back through the customer portal to support decisions around lowering the cost of driving,” says Celent.
The report says, “Insurers can use telematics to directly influence how policyholders drive. At a minimum, [insurers] benefit from the phenomenon in which merely knowing that a device has been installed leads some drivers to moderate their speed and brake more safely.”
Celent adds, “At the extreme, insurers can actively improve driving habits by providing ongoing feedback based on telematics data.”
The “next evolution” of telematics-based products, Celent says, will be to use the device to provide a varying degree of data about how the car is driven, and then using that dat to calculate a premium. “The enhanced version of pay how you drive uses telematics data to provide feedback to the policyholder about how they drive with the intention of improving their driving,” says Celent.
Robin Harbage, director of usage-based insurance for Towers Watson, commenting on where sees telematics-based products today compared to years past, says "In my opinion, 2011 has served as the tipping point for telematics and usage-based insurance. Until now, a few key players were pushing quite hard. Today, almost all major players have a public program or internal pilots."
While widespread use is "less mature," Harbage says that is not hindering regulatory acceptance of the concept. "Regulators almost bend over backwards to help insurers as long as insurers have provisions to be very transparent to policyholders about data privacy, what they're collecting and how they're using it," he says, adding that the warm reception from regulators occurs because telematics replaces proxy variables with data that actually shows why losses occur.
He says the biggest challenge is use of data. Harbage explains, "Because this is so new, insurers don't know exactly what information they should collect. It's not as simple as plugging something in and capturing data. The devices can record quite a bit of data; frequency, accuracy and validity can vary. Think about the end result. What do you want to do with the data?"
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Change attitude and take responsibility says road safety expert
http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2012/01/03/3401423.htm?site=&source=rss
Change attitude and take responsibility says road safety expert
Western Australia had 16 fewer fatalities on WA roads in 2011 compared to 2010, but the holiday road toll across Australia has been horrific, with 35 people killed, a threefold increase on last year.
0
"The holiday road toll is completely tragic," says Professor Brett Hughes from the Curtin-Monash Accident Research Centre.
"If you look at the road toll across Australia there won't be really obvious pattern as to what happens. Alcohol, speed and fatigue are all factors."
Police patrols, road safety campaigns and highway maintenance are all contributing to reducing accidents overall, but ultimately, Prof Hughes, says, it's up to drivers themselves.
"It's our own responsibility to take care of ourselves, whether we're driving in the city or the country."
"There's this blames shifting that goes on, where city people say it's the country drivers who are the problem and vice versa, but that irrelevant."
"We are all responsible for own safety wherever we are."
Overall however, the number show 2011 was a better one for Western Australian motorists, with the number of deaths and critical injuries on the road steadily decreasing over the past four years.
Sixteen fewer fatalities occurred in 2011 compared to 2010, with the most significant change on regional roads where there were 18 fewer fatalities and 58 fewer critical injuries.
Prof Hughes says it's due to a number of initiatives.
"The police are rolling out speed camera much to the annoyance of some people although I do notice in the paper there is strong support for reducing speed across the board."
"Main roads have been spending a lot of money on the black spot program and reducing hazards on the roadsides"
"The Office of Road Safety has been putting out the message about 'slow down and enjoy the ride.'"
"I think drivers have been taking that on board and doing things like managing their speed and fatigue"
The need to wear a seat belt is still a message that needs to be pressed, he says, particularly in regional areas.
"For whatever reason it seems like the seat belt wearing rate in country areas is not as high as in the urban areas."
"Seat belts are a real issue in terms of the number of fatalities."
"The most common serious crash in country areas is single vehicle run-off road crash."
"That highlights a number of issues about fatigue and driving to the conditions. It also highlight the fact that if a car does run off the road it's going to be serious crash if it hits something."
"I know Main Roads is very sensitive to reducing the number of objects that can be hit by the roadside. They've been putting a lot of effort into barriers protecting cars from hitting trees."
"There are also the audible edge lines, where if your car strays you'll hear the noise and hopefully stray back onto the right part of the lane."
Finally though, Prof Hughes says staying alive on the roads is up to drivers.
"We need to make sure that our drivers are up to standard in terms of the way they drive and the skills that they have."
"Over the holidays, I suggest to people that they give some of the attitude a break."
"Be a little bit more patient, a little more forgiving. It's better to be a few minutes late that to be dead late."
"It's our own responsibility to take care of ourselves, whether we're driving in the city or the country."
"There's this blames shifting that goes on, where city people say it's the country drivers who are the problem and vice versa, but that irrelevant."
"We are all responsible for our own safety wherever we are."
Change attitude and take responsibility says road safety expert
Western Australia had 16 fewer fatalities on WA roads in 2011 compared to 2010, but the holiday road toll across Australia has been horrific, with 35 people killed, a threefold increase on last year.
0
"The holiday road toll is completely tragic," says Professor Brett Hughes from the Curtin-Monash Accident Research Centre.
"If you look at the road toll across Australia there won't be really obvious pattern as to what happens. Alcohol, speed and fatigue are all factors."
Police patrols, road safety campaigns and highway maintenance are all contributing to reducing accidents overall, but ultimately, Prof Hughes, says, it's up to drivers themselves.
"It's our own responsibility to take care of ourselves, whether we're driving in the city or the country."
"There's this blames shifting that goes on, where city people say it's the country drivers who are the problem and vice versa, but that irrelevant."
"We are all responsible for own safety wherever we are."
Overall however, the number show 2011 was a better one for Western Australian motorists, with the number of deaths and critical injuries on the road steadily decreasing over the past four years.
Sixteen fewer fatalities occurred in 2011 compared to 2010, with the most significant change on regional roads where there were 18 fewer fatalities and 58 fewer critical injuries.
Prof Hughes says it's due to a number of initiatives.
"The police are rolling out speed camera much to the annoyance of some people although I do notice in the paper there is strong support for reducing speed across the board."
"Main roads have been spending a lot of money on the black spot program and reducing hazards on the roadsides"
"The Office of Road Safety has been putting out the message about 'slow down and enjoy the ride.'"
"I think drivers have been taking that on board and doing things like managing their speed and fatigue"
The need to wear a seat belt is still a message that needs to be pressed, he says, particularly in regional areas.
"For whatever reason it seems like the seat belt wearing rate in country areas is not as high as in the urban areas."
"Seat belts are a real issue in terms of the number of fatalities."
"The most common serious crash in country areas is single vehicle run-off road crash."
"That highlights a number of issues about fatigue and driving to the conditions. It also highlight the fact that if a car does run off the road it's going to be serious crash if it hits something."
"I know Main Roads is very sensitive to reducing the number of objects that can be hit by the roadside. They've been putting a lot of effort into barriers protecting cars from hitting trees."
"There are also the audible edge lines, where if your car strays you'll hear the noise and hopefully stray back onto the right part of the lane."
Finally though, Prof Hughes says staying alive on the roads is up to drivers.
"We need to make sure that our drivers are up to standard in terms of the way they drive and the skills that they have."
"Over the holidays, I suggest to people that they give some of the attitude a break."
"Be a little bit more patient, a little more forgiving. It's better to be a few minutes late that to be dead late."
"It's our own responsibility to take care of ourselves, whether we're driving in the city or the country."
"There's this blames shifting that goes on, where city people say it's the country drivers who are the problem and vice versa, but that irrelevant."
"We are all responsible for our own safety wherever we are."
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
qld Green light for road safety research funding
Green light for road safety research funding
Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT) internationally-recognised road safety research centre has received a $7.25 million funding boost. The Queensland government extended its commitment to the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland (CARRS-Q) at QUT, announcing additional funding this week.
State Minister for Finance and the Arts Rachel Nolan said the government’s Motor Accident Insurance Commission had extended its commitment to CARRS-Q with $7.25 million of funding over the next three years.
“Investment in accident research and road safety is vital in helping Queensland to curb its road death toll and prevent injuries,” Ms Nolan said.
“Given that most crashes can be attributed to driver error, the significance of CARRS-Q and its research program cannot be overestimated.”
Ms Nolan said the government funding would be invested in research, education and outreach activities to improve road safety for Queensland drivers.
“CARRS-Q is a vital player in the international pursuit of road safety,” she said.
“The research program undertaken by CARRS-Q aims to ultimately save lives and minimise the trauma-related harm caused by crashes on our roads.”
CARRS-Q director Professor Barry Watson said the centre, which celebrated its 15th anniversary this year, had grown into one of the leading institutions of its kind in the world and was the premier trainer of road safety researchers and practitioners in the Asia-Pacific region.
“At the state and national level, CARRS-Q has had a major impact on road safety and injury prevention policies and practices, through both government and industry linkages,” Professor Watson said.
“The centre has also established a growing international profile, recognised by the International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety (ICADTS) when it awarded the Centre the Institutional Widmark Award in 2010.
“This award was a major acknowledgement of the centre’s international reputation in the area of alcohol, drugs, and traffic safety research.
“At the core of CARRS-Q’s successes is a great team of internationally regarded researchers and educators.”
CARRS-Q research has contributed to the implementation of significant road safety initiatives in Queensland in association with the Department of Transport and Main Roads, Queensland Police Service and a range of other government and industry groups.
Media contact: Stephanie Harrington,
QUT media officer, 3138 1150,
stephanie.harrington@qut.edu.au
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Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT) internationally-recognised road safety research centre has received a $7.25 million funding boost. The Queensland government extended its commitment to the Centre for Accident Research and Road Safety – Queensland (CARRS-Q) at QUT, announcing additional funding this week.
State Minister for Finance and the Arts Rachel Nolan said the government’s Motor Accident Insurance Commission had extended its commitment to CARRS-Q with $7.25 million of funding over the next three years.
“Investment in accident research and road safety is vital in helping Queensland to curb its road death toll and prevent injuries,” Ms Nolan said.
“Given that most crashes can be attributed to driver error, the significance of CARRS-Q and its research program cannot be overestimated.”
Ms Nolan said the government funding would be invested in research, education and outreach activities to improve road safety for Queensland drivers.
“CARRS-Q is a vital player in the international pursuit of road safety,” she said.
“The research program undertaken by CARRS-Q aims to ultimately save lives and minimise the trauma-related harm caused by crashes on our roads.”
CARRS-Q director Professor Barry Watson said the centre, which celebrated its 15th anniversary this year, had grown into one of the leading institutions of its kind in the world and was the premier trainer of road safety researchers and practitioners in the Asia-Pacific region.
“At the state and national level, CARRS-Q has had a major impact on road safety and injury prevention policies and practices, through both government and industry linkages,” Professor Watson said.
“The centre has also established a growing international profile, recognised by the International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety (ICADTS) when it awarded the Centre the Institutional Widmark Award in 2010.
“This award was a major acknowledgement of the centre’s international reputation in the area of alcohol, drugs, and traffic safety research.
“At the core of CARRS-Q’s successes is a great team of internationally regarded researchers and educators.”
CARRS-Q research has contributed to the implementation of significant road safety initiatives in Queensland in association with the Department of Transport and Main Roads, Queensland Police Service and a range of other government and industry groups.
Media contact: Stephanie Harrington,
QUT media officer, 3138 1150,
stephanie.harrington@qut.edu.au
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EU Insurers May Open ‘Black Box’ Telematics to Escape Gender Ban
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2011/12/21/228323.htm
Motor [auto] insurers seeking to get around a European ban on charging male drivers more than women are turning to innovative black box technology that could trigger an upheaval in the way car insurance is sold.
Britain’s biggest motor insurer, Royal Bank of Scotland, is among those testing the technology, which allows insurers to monitor customers through devices in their cars, and charge according to how riskily they drive.
Insurers, previously deterred by the high cost of so-called telematics insurance, now see it as their best hope for avoiding price hikes that could drive some customers away once the ban comes into force next year.
“There’s a renewed interest, not least because of the gender directive,” said James Rakow, insurance partner at consultants Deloitte. “Most definitely, this second wave of interest seems to have got a foothold in the market.”
Women, who currently pay less for car insurance than men because they are statistically less likely to crash, face an 11 percent price increase once the ban takes effect, according to research commissioned by Germany’s GDV insurers’ lobby.
Insurers fear that could price some women drivers out of the market altogether, sapping revenues. Using telematics to set premiums according to customers’ risk profiles allows the industry to keep offering lower prices to most women while staying on the right side of the law.
Insurers’ renewed interest in the technology also reflects a drop in its cost, said Richard King, chief executive of Ingenie, a British start-up backed by ex-England footballer Gary Lineker that uses telematics to offer affordable cover to young drivers.
“The technology has got an awful lot cheaper and a lot more sophisticated. I think it reached its tipping point last year,” King said.
High overheads forced Aviva, Britain’s second-biggest insurer, to abandon Europe’s first major trial with telematics insurance in 2009. But the experiment achieved a 27 percent cut in premiums while reducing claims by almost a third, and Aviva said it “continues to evaluate the technology”.
Telematics is gaining ground worldwide, with insurers accounting for 60 percent of the U.S. market offering some form of the technology, as are big European players including Allianz and AXA, according to risk management consultant Towers Watson.
SLOW DOWN
But analysts say British insurers are leading the way in using telematics to build up a complete picture of driver behavior, in contrast to simpler applications elsewhere that seek to curb claims by enforcing limits on single risk factors such as speed.
The British insurance industry hopes this will over time allow it to actively persuade customers to drive more safely by offering lower premiums as a reward, triggering a virtuous circle of falling claims.
The European Union’s “eCall” initiative, which aims to ensure that by 2015 car makers fit vehicles with devices that automatically dial for help in the event of a crash, could give telematics insurance a decisive boost by allowing it to piggy-back on a ready-made technological infrastructure.
However, take-up of telematics technology by the mass insurance market could have profound consequences, analysts warn.
The disappearance of standardized pricing would likely challenge so-called aggregator websites such as Admiral’s Confused.com, which allow consumers to compare quotes across the market, and have become one of the biggest sales channels for motor insurance in the UK.
“Once you get to a situation where it’s difficult to compare tariffs simply, it’s going to be difficult for anybody doing like-for-like comparisons,” said Deloitte’s Rakow.
By making explicit the connection between safe driving and cheaper insurance, telematics could also encourage car makers to offer cheap cover as an incentive to buy vehicles fitted with extra safety features, encroaching on insurers’ territory.
“In that circumstance the insurer is demoted to a wholesaler and the car maker becomes the broker,” said Tony Lovick, a Towers Watson consultant and former Aviva executive.
“If I was an insurer I’d be thinking about that and wondering how I could immunize myself against more market upheaval.”
Insurers must stop charging men and women different prices from December next year, the European Court of Justice said in March after ruling that the practice “constitutes discrimination.”
Motor [auto] insurers seeking to get around a European ban on charging male drivers more than women are turning to innovative black box technology that could trigger an upheaval in the way car insurance is sold.
Britain’s biggest motor insurer, Royal Bank of Scotland, is among those testing the technology, which allows insurers to monitor customers through devices in their cars, and charge according to how riskily they drive.
Insurers, previously deterred by the high cost of so-called telematics insurance, now see it as their best hope for avoiding price hikes that could drive some customers away once the ban comes into force next year.
“There’s a renewed interest, not least because of the gender directive,” said James Rakow, insurance partner at consultants Deloitte. “Most definitely, this second wave of interest seems to have got a foothold in the market.”
Women, who currently pay less for car insurance than men because they are statistically less likely to crash, face an 11 percent price increase once the ban takes effect, according to research commissioned by Germany’s GDV insurers’ lobby.
Insurers fear that could price some women drivers out of the market altogether, sapping revenues. Using telematics to set premiums according to customers’ risk profiles allows the industry to keep offering lower prices to most women while staying on the right side of the law.
Insurers’ renewed interest in the technology also reflects a drop in its cost, said Richard King, chief executive of Ingenie, a British start-up backed by ex-England footballer Gary Lineker that uses telematics to offer affordable cover to young drivers.
“The technology has got an awful lot cheaper and a lot more sophisticated. I think it reached its tipping point last year,” King said.
High overheads forced Aviva, Britain’s second-biggest insurer, to abandon Europe’s first major trial with telematics insurance in 2009. But the experiment achieved a 27 percent cut in premiums while reducing claims by almost a third, and Aviva said it “continues to evaluate the technology”.
Telematics is gaining ground worldwide, with insurers accounting for 60 percent of the U.S. market offering some form of the technology, as are big European players including Allianz and AXA, according to risk management consultant Towers Watson.
SLOW DOWN
But analysts say British insurers are leading the way in using telematics to build up a complete picture of driver behavior, in contrast to simpler applications elsewhere that seek to curb claims by enforcing limits on single risk factors such as speed.
The British insurance industry hopes this will over time allow it to actively persuade customers to drive more safely by offering lower premiums as a reward, triggering a virtuous circle of falling claims.
The European Union’s “eCall” initiative, which aims to ensure that by 2015 car makers fit vehicles with devices that automatically dial for help in the event of a crash, could give telematics insurance a decisive boost by allowing it to piggy-back on a ready-made technological infrastructure.
However, take-up of telematics technology by the mass insurance market could have profound consequences, analysts warn.
The disappearance of standardized pricing would likely challenge so-called aggregator websites such as Admiral’s Confused.com, which allow consumers to compare quotes across the market, and have become one of the biggest sales channels for motor insurance in the UK.
“Once you get to a situation where it’s difficult to compare tariffs simply, it’s going to be difficult for anybody doing like-for-like comparisons,” said Deloitte’s Rakow.
By making explicit the connection between safe driving and cheaper insurance, telematics could also encourage car makers to offer cheap cover as an incentive to buy vehicles fitted with extra safety features, encroaching on insurers’ territory.
“In that circumstance the insurer is demoted to a wholesaler and the car maker becomes the broker,” said Tony Lovick, a Towers Watson consultant and former Aviva executive.
“If I was an insurer I’d be thinking about that and wondering how I could immunize myself against more market upheaval.”
Insurers must stop charging men and women different prices from December next year, the European Court of Justice said in March after ruling that the practice “constitutes discrimination.”
http://m.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/sydney-p-plater-death-takes-holiday-toll-to-35/story-e6frg6nf-1226233667632
THE death of a P-plater who was killed when his car struck a tree in Sydney yesterday took the national holiday road toll to 35
The man, in his early 20s, was declared dead at the scene after the crash on Denham Court Road, Denham Court, just after 5pm.
Earlier yesterday, Tasmania recorded its first road fatality of the Christmas-New Year period when a motorcyclist was killed near Sheffield in the north of the state.
In Victoria, a man died and a woman was seriously injured after a car hit a tree on the Hume Freeway near Wangaratta late on Thursday. A man in his 30s, believed to be the driver, died at the scene, a spokesman for Ambulance Victoria said.
A 34-year-old female passenger was flown to The Alfred hospital in a serious but stable condition with multiple injuries.
The man's death takes Victoria's holiday road toll to six and its annual toll to 287, one more death than at the same time last year.
THE death of a P-plater who was killed when his car struck a tree in Sydney yesterday took the national holiday road toll to 35
The man, in his early 20s, was declared dead at the scene after the crash on Denham Court Road, Denham Court, just after 5pm.
Earlier yesterday, Tasmania recorded its first road fatality of the Christmas-New Year period when a motorcyclist was killed near Sheffield in the north of the state.
In Victoria, a man died and a woman was seriously injured after a car hit a tree on the Hume Freeway near Wangaratta late on Thursday. A man in his 30s, believed to be the driver, died at the scene, a spokesman for Ambulance Victoria said.
A 34-year-old female passenger was flown to The Alfred hospital in a serious but stable condition with multiple injuries.
The man's death takes Victoria's holiday road toll to six and its annual toll to 287, one more death than at the same time last year.
call-for-ruling-on-rural-speed-limits
http://www.examiner.com.au/news/local/news/general/call-for-ruling-on-rural-speed-limits/2407119.aspx?src=rss
Road users advocacy group RACT has called on the state government to make a final decision on lowering rural speed limits.
Infrastructure Minister David O'Byrne is considering recommendations from the Road Safety Advisory Council handed to him in October.
The council has recommended that the default speed limit on sealed rural roads be reduced from 100km/h to 90km/h with some exceptions.
The list of exempt roads has not been released but The Examiner understands that the East Tamar Highway between Launceston and George Town, the West Tamar Highway between Launceston and Legana and Illawarra Road between Perth and the Bass Highway will remain at 100km/h.
The maximum speed allowed on gravel rural roads will be 80km/h while highways with a 110km/h speed limit will not be affected.
The recommendation is based on research suggesting that when drivers travel 10km/h slower, the risk of being in a casualty crash is reduced by 20 to 30 per cent.
The RACT resisted a blanket reduction of the default speed limit.
Chief executive Harvey Lennon said there might be some advantage in lowering the speed limit on some roads but high-visibility police patrols and driver education for secondary students would be more effective at reducing the crash rate.
A Monash University study examining the road alignment, crash risk and width of the shoulder was used to help determine which roads were safe for use at 100km/h.
``What the RACT will be pushing for is other key or high-volume roads that don't reach the required safety standard - they'll be the focus of attention in the next two, three, four years,'' Mr Lennon said.
The council has also recommended scrapping end speed limit signs.
``The RACT is concerned that as we approach the end of 2011 there still isn't an announcement about the alternative to end speed limit signs,'' Mr Lennon said.
Local Government Association of Tasmania chief executive Allan Garcia, who represents councils on the Road Safety Advisory Council, said some rural municipalities were concerned that the lower speed limit would increase driving times.
However, he said the recommendation was based on sound research and engineering studies.
Road users advocacy group RACT has called on the state government to make a final decision on lowering rural speed limits.
Infrastructure Minister David O'Byrne is considering recommendations from the Road Safety Advisory Council handed to him in October.
The council has recommended that the default speed limit on sealed rural roads be reduced from 100km/h to 90km/h with some exceptions.
The list of exempt roads has not been released but The Examiner understands that the East Tamar Highway between Launceston and George Town, the West Tamar Highway between Launceston and Legana and Illawarra Road between Perth and the Bass Highway will remain at 100km/h.
The maximum speed allowed on gravel rural roads will be 80km/h while highways with a 110km/h speed limit will not be affected.
The recommendation is based on research suggesting that when drivers travel 10km/h slower, the risk of being in a casualty crash is reduced by 20 to 30 per cent.
The RACT resisted a blanket reduction of the default speed limit.
Chief executive Harvey Lennon said there might be some advantage in lowering the speed limit on some roads but high-visibility police patrols and driver education for secondary students would be more effective at reducing the crash rate.
A Monash University study examining the road alignment, crash risk and width of the shoulder was used to help determine which roads were safe for use at 100km/h.
``What the RACT will be pushing for is other key or high-volume roads that don't reach the required safety standard - they'll be the focus of attention in the next two, three, four years,'' Mr Lennon said.
The council has also recommended scrapping end speed limit signs.
``The RACT is concerned that as we approach the end of 2011 there still isn't an announcement about the alternative to end speed limit signs,'' Mr Lennon said.
Local Government Association of Tasmania chief executive Allan Garcia, who represents councils on the Road Safety Advisory Council, said some rural municipalities were concerned that the lower speed limit would increase driving times.
However, he said the recommendation was based on sound research and engineering studies.
TAS road toll
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-01/20110101---road-toll-down/3754098/?site=&source=rss
Road toll down
Updated Sun Jan 1, 2012 12:20pm AEDT
45-year old motorcyclist Philip Eric Haines of Shearwater was the 26th person to die on the state's roads on Friday.
VIDEO: Tasmania records low road toll (7pm TV News TAS)
MAP: Hobart
Tasmania has recorded its lowest annual road toll in more than 40 years.
26 people died in car crashes last year, down from 31 the previous year and well below the 63 deaths recorded in 2009.
45-year old motorcyclist Philip Eric Haines of Shearwater was the 26th person to die on the state's roads on Friday.
But road safety advocates are not celebrating.
While he welcomes the reduction, the RACT's Harvey Lennon says one death is too many.
"I certainly don't think we ought to be complacent at this point in time," he said.
Mr Lennon says the serious crash rate increased.
Deputy Police Commissioner Scott Tilyard says education is the key to lowering the toll further.
"To a large extent, it depends on the extent to which drivers are prepared to change their driving behaviour," he said.
He says police will maintain their strong presence on the state's roads despite budget cuts.
Road toll down
Updated Sun Jan 1, 2012 12:20pm AEDT
45-year old motorcyclist Philip Eric Haines of Shearwater was the 26th person to die on the state's roads on Friday.
VIDEO: Tasmania records low road toll (7pm TV News TAS)
MAP: Hobart
Tasmania has recorded its lowest annual road toll in more than 40 years.
26 people died in car crashes last year, down from 31 the previous year and well below the 63 deaths recorded in 2009.
45-year old motorcyclist Philip Eric Haines of Shearwater was the 26th person to die on the state's roads on Friday.
But road safety advocates are not celebrating.
While he welcomes the reduction, the RACT's Harvey Lennon says one death is too many.
"I certainly don't think we ought to be complacent at this point in time," he said.
Mr Lennon says the serious crash rate increased.
Deputy Police Commissioner Scott Tilyard says education is the key to lowering the toll further.
"To a large extent, it depends on the extent to which drivers are prepared to change their driving behaviour," he said.
He says police will maintain their strong presence on the state's roads despite budget cuts.
Call to cut sydney city speed limits to 40km/h
http://smh.drive.com.au/roads-and-traffic/call-to-cut-city-speed-limits-to-40kmh-20120101-1ph98.html
TRAFFIC across the city would be slowed to 40km/h as part of City of Sydney plans.
Terry Lee-Williams, a transport strategy manager at the City of Sydney, told the NSW Parliament's joint standing committee on road safety that the council would like a "blanket" 40km/h speed limit across the city in "predominantly residential areas". He said 20 per cent of the existing city speed zones were 40km/h.
Comment: Why 130km/h makes sense for the Hume Highway
''Once we do the CBD, that would take it up to about 35 per cent and we would progressively like to roll that through. I say progressively because it is a cost issue,'' Mr Lee-Williams told the committee late last year.
The costs include hundreds of thousands of dollars in studies ''and hoops we must jump through for the RMS [Roads and Maritime Services]''.
The NSW Labor MP Walt Secord, who is a Staysafe committee member, said he disagreed with the council plan to introduce the 40km/h speed zone across the city, saying it would further congest traffic.
''Recently at a Staysafe parliamentary hearing, the staff from Sydney City Council were advocating changing the entire city to 40 kilometres,'' he said. ''While I understand they have safety concerns, I fear that it could slow city traffic to a snail's pace.
''This would make journeys across Sydney even longer in duration and slower, especially at night.''
A spokeswoman for the City of Sydney said it was the responsibility of NSW Roads and Maritime Services to approve any changes to the speed limit.
"The RMS is responsible for signposting and speed limits throughout NSW," she said.
"The City of Sydney supports improving road safety and minimising the risk of injury and death in pedestrian areas through the reduction of speed limits, as is international best practice. On any given working day, there are 600,000 pedestrians in the city centre and 85,000 vehicles. The slower the vehicle, the less risk of severe trauma to the pedestrian.''
A spokeswoman for Roads and Maritime Services said it had "received a copy of the concept proposal for a speed zone reduction from the City of Sydney on Christmas Eve and is reviewing it early this year".
The former Labor premier Kristina Keneally and the City of Sydney lord mayor, Clover Moore, agreed to a plan to slow traffic within the city centre to 40km/h by early 2011 in a memorandum of understanding dated September 13, 2010, when Mr Secord worked as chief-of-staff for Ms Keneally.
A spokesman for the NSW Roads Minister, Duncan Gay, said the minister had not yet seen the City of Sydney proposal.
Mr Lee-Williams told the Staysafe committee in late November that someone hit by a car at 40km/h was far less likely to die than if they were hit at 60km/h.
''Internationally it is 30km/h, but because it has taken about 12 years to get the RTA down to 40km/h, we did not want to push the envelope to 30km/h,'' he said. ''Traffic also flows better in crowded areas at a slower speed because … you do not get compression between intersections: the vehicles are moving easily; they do not have to accelerate, decelerate, accelerate, decelerate."
TRAFFIC across the city would be slowed to 40km/h as part of City of Sydney plans.
Terry Lee-Williams, a transport strategy manager at the City of Sydney, told the NSW Parliament's joint standing committee on road safety that the council would like a "blanket" 40km/h speed limit across the city in "predominantly residential areas". He said 20 per cent of the existing city speed zones were 40km/h.
Comment: Why 130km/h makes sense for the Hume Highway
''Once we do the CBD, that would take it up to about 35 per cent and we would progressively like to roll that through. I say progressively because it is a cost issue,'' Mr Lee-Williams told the committee late last year.
The costs include hundreds of thousands of dollars in studies ''and hoops we must jump through for the RMS [Roads and Maritime Services]''.
The NSW Labor MP Walt Secord, who is a Staysafe committee member, said he disagreed with the council plan to introduce the 40km/h speed zone across the city, saying it would further congest traffic.
''Recently at a Staysafe parliamentary hearing, the staff from Sydney City Council were advocating changing the entire city to 40 kilometres,'' he said. ''While I understand they have safety concerns, I fear that it could slow city traffic to a snail's pace.
''This would make journeys across Sydney even longer in duration and slower, especially at night.''
A spokeswoman for the City of Sydney said it was the responsibility of NSW Roads and Maritime Services to approve any changes to the speed limit.
"The RMS is responsible for signposting and speed limits throughout NSW," she said.
"The City of Sydney supports improving road safety and minimising the risk of injury and death in pedestrian areas through the reduction of speed limits, as is international best practice. On any given working day, there are 600,000 pedestrians in the city centre and 85,000 vehicles. The slower the vehicle, the less risk of severe trauma to the pedestrian.''
A spokeswoman for Roads and Maritime Services said it had "received a copy of the concept proposal for a speed zone reduction from the City of Sydney on Christmas Eve and is reviewing it early this year".
The former Labor premier Kristina Keneally and the City of Sydney lord mayor, Clover Moore, agreed to a plan to slow traffic within the city centre to 40km/h by early 2011 in a memorandum of understanding dated September 13, 2010, when Mr Secord worked as chief-of-staff for Ms Keneally.
A spokesman for the NSW Roads Minister, Duncan Gay, said the minister had not yet seen the City of Sydney proposal.
Mr Lee-Williams told the Staysafe committee in late November that someone hit by a car at 40km/h was far less likely to die than if they were hit at 60km/h.
''Internationally it is 30km/h, but because it has taken about 12 years to get the RTA down to 40km/h, we did not want to push the envelope to 30km/h,'' he said. ''Traffic also flows better in crowded areas at a slower speed because … you do not get compression between intersections: the vehicles are moving easily; they do not have to accelerate, decelerate, accelerate, decelerate."
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