ICBC launches telematics pilot for new drivers

November 29, 2018

ICBC is taking the next step forward into telematics research with a new pilot—this time inviting as many as 7,000 drivers with less than five years of experience to see how telematics technology can improve their driving and make B.C. roads safer.

ICBC's rates are under considerable pressure, in part from a significant increase in crashes. In fact, in B.C., new drivers are 5.6 times more at risk of getting into a crash and for that crash to be severe, than those with 20 years of driving experience*. This risk gradually decreases as new drivers gain more experience. Starting September 2019, inexperienced drivers will be paying more to better reflect this risk as part of the recent changes to rate fairness. This pilot is an opportunity to assess if telematics can measurably improve driver behaviour and help offset that impact in the future by decreasing this demographic's risk of being in a crash.

Results from the first telematics pilot earlier this year that focused on the technology's usability found that over 40 per cent of participants saw improvements in their driving by using the technology, and nearly three-quarters recommended that ICBC explore its use further—particularly for inexperienced drivers.

Now ICBC will look at telematics solutions that involve a small in-vehicle device that communicates with an app installed on the driver's cellphone. For each trip, driving behaviours like speeding, braking patterns and level of distracted driving are recorded and an overall score is produced. The results from the pilot will help inform whether a longer-term telematics program should be implemented for more ICBC customers.

"From our first telematics pilot earlier this year, ICBC has developed a telematics strategy to identify how the technology can be used to improve road safety and drive behavioural change among higher-risk drivers in B.C.," said Nicolas Jimenez, ICBC's president and CEO. "We heard from those pilot participants that most believed the use of telematics would make the roads safer for everyone. This is our next step in a thoughtful examination of telematics technology and how it might help to keep these drivers safer."

In early 2019, ICBC will confirm a vendor that will provide the technology for the pilot through a Negotiated Request for Proposal process, and participant sign-up will begin in the spring. The pilot will launch in the summer with incentives for drivers while collecting driver feedback and driving behaviour data for one year.

Anyone interested in participating in the pilot can sign up for updates at icbc.com/driverpilot. ICBC is looking for participants in the Novice stage of the graduated licensing program or with less than five years of experience as a fully licensed driver from all across B.C.

*New driver refers to someone with less than one year of experience as a fully licensed driver. Stats from 2018 Rate Design Application.

Media contact:

Lindsay Wilkins
604-982-4759