Vehicle manufacturers should make intelligent speed adaptation (ISA) systems the next ‘must have’ safety feature after a new report suggested that the technology could cut road crash injuries by up to 29%.Simultaneously, fleet operators and vehicle rental companies should be appraised of the benefits of ISA and encouraged to voluntarily introduce the safety feature into their own fleets when available. With almost 60% of all new cars sold in the UK bought by the corporate sector - and many manufacturers seeing business sales account for up to about 80% of their registrations - fleet pressure for ISA to be available is likely to speed its eventual standard fitment.The calls come from RoadSafe, the leading forum for promoting and devising solutions to road safety problems, which also manages the Department for Transport’s ‘Driving for Better Business’ programme.RoadSafe has been instrumental in the successful lobbying for European legislation to be introduced that will now see electronic stability control (ESC) to be fitted as standard on all new car series from 2012, with all new cars being equipped from 2014.With 200 road deaths and serious injuries a week resulting from crashes involving at-work drivers and fleets being pinpointed as a ‘high-risk’ crash sector, RoadSafe believes that ISA is the next safety essential.Many manufacturers and companies are already voluntarily mandating ESC as standard in the pursuit of reducing road crashes and RoadSafe is calling on fleet decision-makers to campaign for ISA to also become available and a standard feature on models as soon as possible. The recent report from the Commission for Integrated Transport and the Motorists’ Forum, ‘Speed limit adherence and its effect on road safety and climate change’, recommended that: “Government should engage with employers to ensure they are aware of the overall benefits of ISA and consider the fitment and use of this technology within their duty of care and work related road safety policies, when it is available.”ISA is an in-vehicle system that ‘knows’ the speed limits and can be used to display the current speed limit to the driver, provide warnings when the vehicle is exceeding the speed limit, and, in the case of mandatory ISA, ensure the speed limit is not broken.RoadSafe director Adrian Walsh said: “Last year, the Department for Transport said that it would be working with motor manufacturers and others to consider how the voluntary uptake of ISA could be encouraged.“Trials have shown the benefits of ISA, just as they previously highlighted the crash and injury-reducing success of anti-lock brakes and more recently ESC. Both ABS and ESC have subsequently been legislated for and we would like, in due course, for ISA to become mandatory on all cars and vans.“Speeding, and specifically, inappropriate speed, is one of the most significant causes of road crashes. ISA technology can help alert drivers to the speed limit they are in and, if necessary, limit their vehicles’ speed.”He added: “With fleets, rental and leasing companies responsible for buying significantly more than half of all new cars sold in the UK, pressure from the corporate sector for ISA to be fitted should encourage manufacturers to make the technology available.“The CfIT/MF report proves the cost benefit case for ISA with not only crash savings but also fuel savings and reduced CO2 emissions. With fleet operating costs under the microscope and companies being tasked by the Government with improving vehicle and driver safety, all parties should work together to make ISA widely available as soon as possible.”Further support for ISA came late last year when a report by the House of Commons Transport Committee suggested that the Government should fit the technology to its own fleet vehicles and provide fiscal and financial incentives to encourage employers to use vehicles with additional proven safety features.