Microsoft has teamed with DataKind, a nonprofit organization that connects communities with skilled data scientists, to reduce traffic-related deaths and serious injuries in four U.S. cities. The effort, which first launched in New York City last August, will expand to San Jose, Seattle, and New Orleans. The DataKind Vision Zero project will harness public and private data to understand and prevent serious crashes in each city.
crashes
Researchers suggest using Google Street View and Walk Score to conduct pedestrian safety studies
Pedestrian safety and the effects of environmental features are important considerations in cities everywhere. But studying pedestrians via street audits and volume counts can be time consuming and costly. Researchers at Columbia University suggest a way to overcome this challenge by using readily available information from Google Street View and Walk Score.
Researchers suggest using Google Street View and Walk Score to conduct pedestrian safety studies
Pedestrian safety and the effects of environmental features are important considerations in cities everywhere. But studying pedestrians via street audits and volume counts can be time consuming and costly. Researchers at Columbia University suggest a way to overcome this challenge by using readily available information from Google Street View and Walk Score.
Total VMT and fatalities are up
Total 2015 U.S. motor vehicle travel is expected to reach record levels, and crash-related fatalities have been climbing as well.
New critique identifies troubling errors in FHWA’s report on driver distraction from digital signs
The federal government began allowing the construction of digital billboards along interstate highways in 2007. In response to concerns over the potential effects on driver attention, FHWA conducted a study and found that while drivers may look at digital signs slightly more than they look at standard billboards, this was not associated with a decrease in drivers’ attention to the roadway or an increase in unacceptably long glances away from the roadway. However, an extensive, peer-reviewed, January 2015 critique has raised concerns about both the methodology and results of the FHWA study.
Researchers explore links between speed and safety
As states experiment with increasing and lowering speed limits on rural highways, questions still remain as to what effects those changes might have on safety. At this year’s annual meeting of the Transportation Research Board, researchers trying to answer some of those questions found that slower is safer.
BYU researchers predict high crash sites to help UDOT target improvements
Researchers at Brigham Young University have developed one of the most advanced traffic safety models in the country, and Utah DOT will be using it to target allocation of scarce funds to the most crucial locations to save lives and prevent serious injuries. The model uses more variables than just crash numbers and traffic volume to get a clearer picture of the problem. It also takes into account all of the conditions of a segment of roadway and determines how many crashes are expected to occur there, then it compares that number with the actual number of crashes that happen.
Automakers designing for pedestrian safety
Traditionally, improving the safety of pedestrians sharing roads with motor vehicles has been accomplished through policies aimed at reducing vehicle speeds and the likelihood of vehicle-pedestrian collisions. However, in recent years automakers have been working to design cars in ways that reduce the likelihood that pedestrians struck by motor vehicles will die or suffer serious injuries as a result.
Red light cameras still popular with municipalities, but not drivers
Almost half the states allow red light cameras, and municipalities are increasingly installing them at intersections as tools to increase public safety. Despite public pushback concerning the cameras, and some hiccups with implementation, this technology should stay in place where it is established and be installed at problem intersections whenever possible. The clear improvements in safety and traffic operations provide a benefit to the public and the best argument for accepting the utility of red light cameras.
Solving the critter crossing problem
When state Departments of Transportation address safety concerns related to motor-vehicle/wildlife crashes, the agencies save lives and reduce economic costs. Crashes involving larger animals – including deer, elk, moose, and bear – are on the rise, and many states consider addressing this safety concern an integral part of their mission. Some states are using innovative approaches to keep wildlife off the roads.