The Future of Intersection Safety: A Technological Perspective

Intersection safety is a topic that has garnered significant attention in recent years, especially with the rise in vulnerable road user fatalities. Thanks to emerging technologies, we're witnessing a transformative shift in how we tackle this challenge.

In this blog, we explore technologies that cities are using to help improve intersection safety and the importance of a data-driven approach.

Intersection Safety is A Growing Concern

Each year, intersections are responsible for roughly one-quarter of traffic fatalities and about half of all traffic injuries in the United States. In the first half of 2024, early estimates indicate a 3% decrease in pedestrian fatalities and a 1% decrease in cyclist fatalities compared to the same period in 2023. (Source: NHSTA) While these reductions are encouraging, it's important to note that traffic fatalities remain above pre-pandemic levels, underscoring the ongoing need for enhanced safety measures at intersections. But these statistics represent more than just numbers. Behind each percentage are individuals: loved ones, friends, and community members. Every data point echoes the stories of people whose lives were dramatically altered or tragically ended.

So, what can be done to ensure safer intersections for everyone on the road?

The answer lies in innovation and collaboration.

A New Era of Intersection Safety Solutions

As intersections continue to be high-risk areas for crashes and fatalities, there is a growing emphasis on innovative approaches to improve safety. Across the country, transportation agencies, technology providers, and community organizations are prioritizing intersection safety by exploring new technologies like probe-based and connected vehicle data. These rich data sources, combined with artificial intelligence, enable proactive measures to detect and mitigate potential hazards before they lead to tragedies.

This focus is evident in initiatives such as the USDOT's Intersection Safety Challenge, which concluded its 2024 round by awarding projects that leveraged cutting-edge technologies to improve intersection safety nationwide. Among the standout winners were:

• University of Washington: The University of Washington developed a Cooperative Perception System (CPS) to create a comprehensive understanding of intersection dynamics. The system integrates multiple sensors, including visual cameras, thermal cameras, and 3D LiDARs, enabling 3D object detection, classification, and conflict prediction. Their approach uses advanced algorithms to track road users, predict their future movements, and identify potential collision scenarios by calculating time-to-collision. This technology ensures safety for vehicles and vulnerable road users under varying environmental conditions, making it adaptable and scalable for intersections across the nation.
• University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Mobility Lab: UCLA's InfraShield system integrates multimodal sensor data-including LiDAR, RGB cameras, and radar-with machine learning models to forecast the movements of road users under diverse conditions. By leveraging high-definition maps and historical trajectory data, their solution provides robust predictions to identify conflict points and calculate time-to-collision scenarios. This technology ensures enhanced safety for vulnerable road users, even in complex and noisy data environments.

These projects exemplify how innovation can address intersection safety challenges head-on and also align closely with the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program, which emphasizes systemic safety improvements and equitable solutions for reducing roadway fatalities.

By combining cutting-edge technology with local insights, we can develop targeted, effective solutions that align with the National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS) and USDOT's broader goals of safety and equity, creating safer roads for everyone.

Taking a Data-Driven Approach to Improving Intersection Safety is Crucial:

Data can help inform safer intersection design, encourage safer driving behaviors, and can be used to take more proactive safety measures. By continuously collecting and monitoring data before and after safety project implementations, agencies can ensure goals remain on track. Data can also be used to develop more equitable solutions and can help shape effective policies. Taking a data-driven approach to safety is essential for optimizing interventions in an effort to eliminate traffic fatalities and severe injuries.

Evidence-based data is crucial for developing and advocating for effective policies and regulations that enhance road safety:

• Understanding the Problem: Data helps in comprehending the scope and nature of intersection crashes, allowing for the identification of high-risk areas.
• Evaluating Interventions: By analyzing crash rates before and after an intervention, the effectiveness of safety measures can be assessed.
• Informing Road Design: Data can pinpoint common crash causes, guiding the implementation of safety measures like roundabouts or pedestrian crossings.
• Resource Allocation: With data at hand, transportation agencies can prioritize safety initiatives more effectively.

Emerging Technologies Are Paving the Way for Safer Intersections

Emerging technologies that integrate connected vehicle data and AI, are reshaping our approach to intersection safety. Connected vehicle data offers real-time insights into road user behavior, allowing for more dynamic and responsive safety measures. Coupled with AI's predictive capabilities, we can anticipate and mitigate potential conflicts even before they arise.

This technological evolution aligns perfectly with the Safe Systems Approach to road safety. Instead of solely focusing on preventing crashes, the Safe Systems Approach emphasizes designing roads and systems that ensure even when crashes occur, they don't result in serious injuries or fatalities. By leveraging these advanced technologies, we're not just addressing individual risks but building an entire ecosystem where road users, vehicles, and infrastructure work harmoniously to prioritize safety.

INRIX is taking advantage of these technologies to revolutionize the way cities approach and address intersection safety with INRIX Signal Analytics and Safety View by GM Future Roads & INRIX.

Safety View by GM Future Roads & INRIX

Safety View is a cloud-based analytics solution developed by GM and INRIX that offers comprehensive safety data combined with sophisticated analytics tools.

It can be a game-changer for improving intersection safety by providing:

• Holistic Safety Insights: Safety View provides a comprehensive view of road safety, allowing professionals to screen their network with multiple variables and create informed safety plans. It integrates crash databases with proprietary risk, exposure, and equity datasets for quick, informative visualizations to understand safety needs and risks.
• Proactive Risk Assessment: Safety View is purpose-built with a few common workflows for network screening at the roadway segment level. You can build your own High Injury Network through our Risk Analyzer tool and rank your entire network with Road Segment Ranking. This aids in prioritizing segments that require immediate attention.
• Evaluating Safety Projects: Safety View includes a Time Comparison mode, which offers a quarterly trend analysis on all its risk and exposure variables, like speeds, volumes, and risk scores. This ensures that agencies don't have to wait for the next funding cycle to gauge the impact of implemented safety measures.

INRIX Signal Analytics

Signal Analytics is a cloud-based application that uses data from connected cars to help traffic professionals understand unnecessary delays at signalized intersections.

Here's how it stands out:

• Monitoring Intersection Activity without Hardware: Signal Analytics provides virtual infrastructure by continuously collecting data from connected cars to provide intersection performance metrics networkwide. This eliminates the need for expensive hardware or slow fieldwork.
• Helping to Quickly Identify Performance Issues: By transforming trillions of data points into detailed metrics and trends, Signal Analytics helps agencies quickly address intersection-related challenges and prioritize traffic signal projects.
• Automated Reporting to Enable Proactive Actions: Signal Analytics offers functional summaries, detailed daily reports, and data visualizations to ensures that agencies can take immediate action based on deep analysis and reliable performance trends.

A Safer Future Lies Ahead

The future of intersection safety is promising, with technology playing a pivotal role. By adopting a data-driven approach and leveraging emerging technologies, we can make significant strides in reducing intersection-related fatalities and injuries.

Interested in harnessing the power of INRIX's transportation intelligence and safety solutions for your community or agency?

Reach out to INRIX today and discover how our cutting-edge tools can elevate your approach to intersection safety.

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