Traffic App Helps Identify Safety Issues and High Frequency Accident Locations
Traffic App Helps Identify Safety Issues and High Frequency Accident Locations
January 4, 2013
Press Releases, Robotics & High-Tech
BEER-SHEVA, Israel, January 4, 2013 — Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers reveal that data culled from geosocial networks like the GPS traffic app Waze can help prevent traffic incidents with better deployment of police resources at the most accident prone areas.
“Only now are we beginning to discover the potential in the huge amount of data collected daily,” explains BGU researcher and Ph.D. student Michael Fire. “Studies of this kind, which monitor events such as traffic accidents over time, can help the police identify dangerous sections of roads in real time, or alternatively, locations where few police are needed.”
The paper, “Data Mining Opportunities in Geosocial Networks for Improving Road Safety,” was presented at the IEEE 27th Convention of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in Israel.
Waze records location data and enables users to upload and share comments on any detail, including traffic alerts, accidents or police presence. According to its Web site, Waze has 30 million worldwide users and describes itself as “a community-based traffic and navigation app whose users share real-time traffic and road info, saving time and gas money.”
Using Waze data and Google Earth, the BGU researchers determined that three-quarters (75 percent) of the locations in Israel with the highest number of accidents were intersections. They then analyzed references to a police presence to determine if the police were present at the spots that had the worst traffic accidents.
“There were numerous instances where the police were manning quieter intersections, while busier intersections went unmonitored,” Fire explains. “According to the data, police response time varied from 20 minutes to 40 minutes in some situations.”
Using Waze, data from May and June 2012 was collected and analyzed on accident reports, police presence, traffic jams, and speed traps. BGU researchers identified 579 different locations in Israel that had at least five reoccurring accidents during this period where 5,156 reported accidents occurred. Police were reported at least 15 times at more than 3,500 locations.
Other researchers involved with the study from BGU’s Department of Information Systems Engineering and BGU’s Telekom Innovation Laboratories include Prof. Yuval Elovici, head of the lab, as well as Dr. Rami Puzis, Prof. Lior Rokach, and student Dima Kagan.
ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY
By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.
About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.
We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.
BGU at a glance:
20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.
For all press inquiries, please contact:
James Fattal, J Cubed Communications
516.289.1496
Stories Like This
