Over 1.3 million people die every year in road-related accidents, with millions more injured. The commitment to improve road safety is now global, and technology is recognized by the United Nations as one of the key elements to achieve this. From predicting accident hotspots and planning safe infrastructure, to helping countries achieve Vision Zero, tech solutions are being introduced around the world to improve safety.
Road Safety
How tech improves road safety
- Advanced analysis of safety in current infrastructure
- Smart data collection to identify accident hotspots
- Simulating safety measures and predicting their effects
- Planning for new mobility modes
- Targeted simulations to support vulnerable road users
Assessing safety measures
Advanced modelling helps planners and authorities choose the right steps to increase road safety, sparing costly mistakes. Modelling also helps analyze the safety performance of existing infrastructure.
Read more about how Newcastle University and PTV Group joined forces to improve road safety worldwide.
Ensuring safety of new mobility
With electric and autonomous vehicles about to enter mass service, mobility planners need to ensure they are safe on the roads. Multimodal simulations are already supplying the much-needed information in this area. Read more: Knowing the effects of AV’s on mobility.
Caring for vulnerable road users
Pedestrians and cyclists are disproportionally hurt in road crashes, but they are often overlooked in mobility planning. To tackle this, digital tools simulate the behavior of those road users, enabling planners to take action in risky hotspots. Read more about planning safe crossings for pedestrians or how virtual reality increases road safety.
Preventing the next accidents
Complete data about crashes, fatalities and injuries is often the key to preventing the next ones. Tech tools now help authorities to collect and analyze this data, leading to identifying of hotspots and prevention of future tragedies. Read more about Predicting accidents before they happen or about The woman who put road safety on the agenda in Bolivia.
