New Renault cars will score your driving out of 100 and deduct marks for these mistakes
A new form of Big Brother - or 'Grand Frere' - technology is fitted to cars by a popular French manufacturer to scores driving performance - and it will deduct points for speeding, tailgating and drifting over the white lines between lanes.
Renault's 'Safety Score' will issue owners with a personalised mark out of 100 at the end of each trip in the hope that drivers will compete with each other to get the best ratings and improve road safety.
Marks are docked if any of the vehicle's suite of Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) kick in during the journey, including lane assist, automated emergency braking and the latest tech fitted to new models from this week, Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) alerts[1].
The big question is: will your insurer be informed if you have a poor rating?
Renault's 'Safety Score' feature provides owners with a score out of 100 for their driving performance for each journey. Points are deducted if safety features such as lane assist and automated emergency braking intervene during the trip.
But what does it do with the data?
The safety score feature was first launched by the French car giant in January 2023 as part of its 'Human First' campaign to tackle road safety.
It is set to be installed across all models in its range, including the Clio supermini, forthcoming 5 EV[2] and its European Car of the Year winner, the Scenic E-Tech[3].
It is a form of 'telematics' monitoring of driving, which is becoming a popular insurance product to help young people slash their premiums by allowing insurers to track their behaviour on the road.
The feature will be available in the UK after the summer on new Renault models, a spokesperson for the brand told This is Money.
Renault's tech rates each journey out of 100, with points being scrubbed off if ADAS safety features are triggered during the trip.
For instance, if a motorist veers over the dividing white lines between lanes on a motorway and the car's lane assist system sounds an alert or steers the vehicle back into the lane, points will be deducted.
Marks are taken off if the car's Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) feature intervenes to automatically apply the brakes when it believes a collision with a vehicle or object ahead is imminent.
It will dock points if cameras and radars linked to the adaptive cruise control has alerted the user that they are travelling too close to a vehicle in front, and if a driver drowsiness warning has been activated during the journey.
The feature is set to be installed across all models in Renault's range, including the Clio supermini, forthcoming 5 EV and its European Car of the Year winner, the Scenic E-Tech (pictured)
The safety score for each journey will have points deducted if any Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems are triggered, such as lane assist.
At the end of each trip, drivers are presented with a score out of 100
Marks are also taken off if the car's Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) feature intervenes and if cameras and radars linked to the adaptive cruise control has alerted the user that they are travelling too close to a vehicle in front
It is also be linked to ISA speed limiter technology, which is being installed in most new cars sold in the UK from this week due to an EU mandate[4] coming into force on 7 July.
New cars fitted with automatic speed limiters from this week - can drivers turn them off?
ISA uses a combination of GPS data, satellite navigation, speed-sign recognition cameras and forward-facing cameras to identify what the speed limit is at any given time and determine if the vehicle is exceeding it.
If the car is travelling over the limit, motorists receive a number of warnings ushering them to slow down.
These can be visual alerts on the instrument cluster or screen, a short audible warning, or a gentle vibration of the steering wheel when the limit is being exceeded. Manufacturers can use a combination of these - or all three.
If the alerts are repeatedly ignored by the driver, the system can even intervene by restricting engine power to automatically bring the speed down to the legal limit.
All new Renaults sold in showrooms today are equipped with ISA, which cannot be disabled entirely but can be switched off at the start of every journey.
Each time an ISA alert is triggered, this will also impact the score drivers are issued at the end of their trip.
As well as the safety score feature, Renault's will come with a 'Safety Coach' system, which will advise owners how to improve their driving to get a better mark out of 100 next time.
And following in the foot steps of exercise apps like Strava and Fitbit, The Times[5] reports that the French company will create an online leaderboard so drivers can post their scores against others they know who also drive Renaults.
Like ISA, the safety score feature in Renaults cannot be deactivated, but can be switched off each time the car's engine is started.
Data collected by the feature will also help Renault to identify and map high-risk sections of road, which can then be alerted to motorists via the satellite navigation system to warn them to drive more carefully.
The system will also allow Renault to map particular danger points of stretches of road.
It can then alert drivers about risky routes they're approaching via the sat nav
Will Renault tell insurers about your low driving score?
The Times reports that Safety Score results can be stored and could be made available to drivers to hand to insurers to secure lower premiums.
This would be similar to motorists taking out 'black box' telematics insurance policies[6], which are growing in popularity among new drivers who face sky-high premiums.
By having a black box installed in their cars, young motorists are able to secure cheaper insurance by allowing their provider to monitor if they're safe behind the wheel or not.
Car insurance costs hit new average record high of GBP635 - but hikes may be starting to slow
Good driving performance is rewarded with ongoing lowered insurance premiums. while frequent instances of drivers speeding, accelerating too hard or braking heavily can be used to hike prices.
It is unclear if safety scores recorded in Renault's system can be shared with insurers, with the car maker refusing to comment when approached by This is Money.
However, the French brand has suggested the feature will be used to encourage 'positive attitude and not point fingers of blame'.
Experts have recently warned car makers that they need to be more transparent with drivers about new safety tech being installed in motors, especially ISA.
Yousif Al Ani, principal engineer for ADAS at automotive risk intelligence company Thatcham Research, said manufacturers need to address concerns that driver assistance safety features will not 'interfere' with the driving experience.
'Striking a balance between safety, performance, and integration to create systems that cooperate with drivers is a real challenge for manufacturers,' he explained.
'Drivers must also be aware that ISA is an assistance system and that they will remain liable for the safety of their vehicles.
'Incorrect information provided by ISA does not exempt drivers from speed limit infractions.'
References
- ^ latest tech fitted to new models from this week, Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) alerts (www.thisismoney.co.uk)
- ^ forthcoming 5 EV (www.thisismoney.co.uk)
- ^ European Car of the Year winner, the Scenic E-Tech (www.thisismoney.co.uk)
- ^ ISA speed limiter technology, which is being installed in most new cars sold in the UK from this week due to an EU mandate (www.thisismoney.co.uk)
- ^ The Times (www.thetimes.com)
- ^ motorists taking out 'black box' telematics insurance policies (www.thisismoney.co.uk)