The Insurance Corporation of B.C. (ICBC) is launching a pilot project that uses telematics to track the way as many as 7,000 new drivers manoeuvre on the road.

The public insurer will use a device in the inexperienced driver’s vehicle to track behaviours such as speeding, braking patterns and level of distracted driving.

The B.C. government is in the midst of a massive overhaul at ICBC that includes having newer drivers pay more, starting in September of next year, to better reflect the risk associated with a lack of experience behind the wheel. This pilot will allow the public insurer to determine whether tracking behaviour can measurably improve driving.

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“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.,” ICBC CEO Nicolas Jimenez said.

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“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.”

LISTEN: ICBC is recruiting seven-thousand new drivers to let technology track driving behaviour next year.

The provincial government has been struggling to right the financial ship at ICBC. The insurer lost $1.3 billion last year and is forecasting a $890-million loss this fiscal year.

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Less experienced drivers are the target of this pilot because, according to ICBC, 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.

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The insurer has had some success using telematics with 40 per cent of participants seeing improvements in their driving by using the technology.

ICBC will analyze a driver’s behaviour and produce an overall score in terms of the risk level. Anyone interested in participating in the pilot can sign up online.