Coyote drivers slow down for 22.000 ‘identified’ bends

Two years after starting the program in June 2020, navigation aid specialist Coyote says it has registered an apparent change in the behavior of its drivers after identifying more than 22 000 dangerous bends on Belgian roads. The navigation aid system warns when you are approaching a dangerous curve, which already resulted in drivers limiting their speed accordingly.

“Compared to 2019, we notice a decrease of more than 10% in the average speed before, during, and after the corner,” says Coyote Systems Benelux CEO Vincent Hebert. “We have succeeded in our mission because our community is driving more quietly,” he adds.

Analyzing data of 1,6 million users

The company developed an algorithm that analyses the data of 1 650 million users, using up to 200 different parameters describing ‘dangerous bends’, like the angle and curve, type of road, brake distance before and after the bend, and deceleration analysis.

The data are used to categorize the bend type and automatically generate a warning when the driver approaches an identified bend. If the car’s speed at that moment is below the advised speed, the message ‘dangerous bend’ appears on the screen. When going too fast, the system urges to DECELERATE  (‘VERTRAGEN’ in Dutch) in capitals.

Future development will include time and weather data to customize the warnings, taking into account actual circumstances on the spot.

Irritating French government

Coyote was started in 2005 in France as a radar trap detection service by Fabien Pierlot, where users could pass on information about the exact location where the police were checking speed limits as a warning for other drivers following on the same road. For that purpose, a small mobile device was mounted on the dashboard.

The community service gained popularity rapidly among French drivers wanting to avoid speeding tickets, which irritated the government increasingly. In 2011, president Zarkosy prepared to push through a new law to forbid the usage of radar detection services.

Pierlot, who had seen the storm coming, mobilized his loyal user base to throw themselves into the breach to convince Parliament and legalize the platform by expanding it with map data and converting it into a ‘navigational aid to warn for hazards like accidents’ (and radars). The same applied to other navigation device providers like TomTom, Mio, and Waze.

5,5 million users in eight countries

In 2009, Coyote Systems Benelux was created as a full daughter of Coyote Systems International, covering Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands and serving 1,6 million users.

Spread over eight European countries, including Italy, Spain, Germany, and Poland, next to Benelux and France; it claims 5,5 million users being active 90% of the time.

It’s available as a stand-alone device, a smartphone app, or integrated into navigation systems offered by carmakers like Renault, PSA Peugeot-Citroën, and car radio specialists like Parrot.