Many of us know someone who has been traumatized, seriously injured, or killed by a crash involving a motor vehicle. With the holiday season here, transportation professionals all over the world are sounding the alarm bells about road safety. The US National Safety Council estimatedthat as many as 393 fatalities occurred during 2022's Christmas holiday period, with the lives of the families and friends of these 393 individuals being changed permanently. On an annual basis, over 42,000 people in the US and more than 1.3 million worldwide are killed each year on the road.

"The sobering fact is that most of these fatalities and serious injuries can be prevented by technologies, interventions, and policies we have at our disposal today," says Advanced Mobility Analytics Group (AMAG) CEO Dr. Simon Washington, PhD. "Governments around the world, to their credit, have adopted Vision Zero policies – which we expect will trigger transformation of how roads are managed."

"The speed of any transformation will determine how many deaths are prevented, and the solutions to this complex problem will require strong political leadership," adds Michael Griffith, President of AMAG's North American operations.

About 10 years ago, Washington witnessed a fatal crash involving a bicyclist, and that traumatic memory continues to both haunt and motivate him, and was a key factor in the co-founding of AMAG in 2019 with fellow university professors, Drs Shimul Haque and Tarek Sayed.

"About a minute before the crash, while cycling safely and side by side on the roadway shoulder, I had a first (and last) conversation with this exuberant 23-year-old female cyclist, with her father also riding in our peloton. A minute later, things went terribly wrong when a large truck came by and things I wish I could unsee occurred – ending this poor woman's life," said Washington. "Preventing crashes like these is why AMAG exists."

Simon Washington
Simon Washington Simon Washington

Washington and Griffith explain some of the stumbling blocks that governments face today in eliminating fatal and serious injury crashes. First and foremost, governments today lack sensors that provide evidence regarding safety risks. Second, governments have historically relied on information derived from actual crashes to inform their safety investments.

"Relying on a death to prevent a future death is an ethical trap the profession has been locked in for decades," says Washington.

Thirdly, roads have been designed for vehicles first, and active travelers – pedestrians, cyclists, e-scooters, etc. – second, translating to relatively high risk for them.

Michael Griffth
Michael Griffth Michael Griffth

"Active travelers are always the loser in a confrontation with a vehicle," Griffith says.

AMAG's technology helps governments to address these stumbling blocks to deliver safer transportation systems.

"As global pioneers of this technology, with co-founder Tarek Sayed having begun early development and testing in 2005, AMAG is poised to lead a global transformation in saving lives by combining exciting technologies, know-how, and grit," says Washington.

AMAG's SMART software solutions leverage the knowledge of the co-founders regarding the predictors of traveler safety and AI to enable computers to identify road users. It also includes edge computing to convert video information from traffic cameras into insights in fractions of a second, and cloud technology to deliver the insights to decision-makers. "This combination of video technology, the maturity in AI and edge-computing, and the more than 100 years of collective experience of road safety leaders are factors that will fuel transformation in the industry" says Griffith.

A fundamental key to this new technology is the concept of a "near-miss" or critical conflict between road users. Similar to how cigarette smoking is understood to increase lung cancer risk, the presence of near-misses is known to increase future crash risks. "Being able to measure near-misses has been a critical key to unlocking a predictive approach to managing road safety," says Washington. "The ability to measure where future crashes are likely to happen is transforming approaches in the profession."

The capabilities of AMAG's SMART near-miss based solutions are exciting, transformative, and save lives. Below is a small list of many common situations that will be transformed by this technology.

  1. An elderly couple enters a marked crosswalk a tad too late to make it safely across the intersection. Instead of getting hit by oncoming cars, AMAG's technology detects these pedestrians and communicates directly with the traffic signal to ensure safe passage.
  2. A wrong-way driver enters the motorway. Instead of colliding with oncoming vehicles at deadly speeds, AMAG's technology detects the driver, activates flashing beacons, warns oncoming motorists, and contacts law enforcement to prevent the severe crash.
  3. School pickupdrop off zones can be actively monitored and assessed for crash risks involving children to make improvements before a tragedy occurs.

AMAG estimates that since its founding in 2019, its technology has prevented at least 692 crashes, 113 injuries, and 23 fatalities. The technology enables governments to save lives in several ways. First, governments can roll out and evaluate improvements rapidly by providing evidence documenting their impact on safety. Second, the technology can inform governments about crash risks they are currently unaware of. Third, measures can be delivered by detecting and addressing known high-risk situations in real-time (ex., a pedestrian at risk, a wrong-way driver, etc.)

"The contribution of this technology is a timely example of using AI for social positive outcomes during a time when there is much discussion in the media about the potential negative impact of AI," says Washington.

"We encourage authorities to act quickly and not wait to implement this technology after something really heart wrenching has already happened," says Griffith. "With every new technology there are early adopters, and these industry-leaders are who AMAG have targeted thus far. New technology always comes with early setbacks and this is to be expected; fortunately the technology is now sufficiently mature to put to use," says Washington. "Unfortunately, slow adoption of this promising technology means that we are not saving more lives," says Griffith.

As a company focused on improving road safety, AMAG advocates that everyone should do their part during the Christmas and New Year holiday season to keep themselves and their loved ones safe. In return, AMAG promises to continue to push the boundaries of this promising technology for global change on how to improve road safety and encourage your city to adopt AMAG's technology.

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