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ICBC has teamed up with an IT company and is ready to go ahead with a study aimed at finding out whether using in-car sensors can help make new drivers into safe drivers

Now ICBC and Octo Telematics are looking for 7,000 new B.C. drivers to sign up for the study.

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Half will be a control group. The other half will be equipped with sensors to monitor speeding, braking and distracted driving, and their cellphones will be sent regular feedback on how to improve their driving.

Mark Milner, a road safety program manager at ICBC, hopes these “nudges” will reduce crash rates among new drivers, who are more than three times as likely to be involved in an accident than experienced drivers.

A previous ICBC pilot study with 125 drivers found participants were generally comfortable with the concept of sensors and that 40 per cent improved driving performance. Other studies suggest drivers who know they’re being monitored tend to behave better on the road, especially when it can affect their insurance rates.