Open Data Nation is working with Microsoft to give three cities the opportunity to advance their goals of ‘Vision Zero’, an international initiative to reduce traffic crash fatalities and serious injuries to nil.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), nearly 18,000 people died in car crashes in 2016, 10% more than the year prior, and the highest number reported since 2008. As driverless cars draw ever closer, nationwide, real-time predictions of where and when people are in the most danger of being struck and killed in car crashes, will help to equip vehicles with the safety features and routing technologies necessary to prevent injuries and save lives. By taking advantage of data in and about cities, from traffic incident reports to information about land use and demographics, the partnership will demonstrate that data science can transform urban transportation planning, improving safety for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers.
Open Data Nation combines detailed public records and industry expertise to reveal new, leading indicators of risks that threaten lives and livelihoods. Based in Washington DC, the company specializes in surveying the viability of open data science initiatives for public sector agencies, and commercial applications that lower costs and better manage risks. A proponent of the use of open data for ‘smarter cities’ and ‘safer streets’, the company is developing analytics systems and predictive software tools.
Over the course of 2017, Open Data Nation will work with Microsoft to survey and advise interested cities on how to prepare their data to feed into critical transportation safety analyses. For three select cities, the company will then build predictions about which intersections are the most dangerous, and develop the insights and tools necessary to help cities prioritize and assess their investments in interventions to reduce traffic crashes. Blogs and a series of White Papers will document what was learned and lower the barriers to broader adoption across the USA.
“Road safety is one of the oldest and most widely shared urban challenges,” said Elizabeth Grossman, director of civic projects at Microsoft. “We are bringing Microsoft’s partnerships, talent and technology to bear to help governments and communities take a scalable approach to tackling local priorities.”
Open Data Nation’s founder and CEO, Carey Anne Nadeau (above), commented, “In the process of making cities smarter, with advanced technology and data science techniques, we have an imperative to make them safer and healthier places too.”
