The number of pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists killed or injured on EU roads are 47% of Europe’s 26,000 road deaths annually.
The Nevada Center for Advanced Mobility (Nevada CAM) and the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC) are calling on technology companies to submit “creative approaches, technologies and products to improve pedestrian safety in southern Nevada, where pedestrian fatalities are rising as the community grows.”
During 2015 there were 73 pedestrian deaths in Nevada; 60 of them happened in southern Clark County, many of them at night. Police reports say that both drivers and pedestrians are failing to look about.
It’s not just pedestrians. Preliminary estimates from the National Safety Council say motor vehicle deaths were 9% higher through the first six months of 2016 than in 2015, and 18% higher than two years ago at the six-month mark. An estimated 19,100 people have been killed on U.S. roads since January, and 2.2 million were seriously injured. The total estimated cost of these deaths and injuries is $205 billion. During 2015, the most significant increases came for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Nevada CAM says the quote request seeks to investigate new technology options to improve pedestrian safety and decrease deaths and injuries. The technology needs to be at or beyond prototype development stage and ready for deployment. “These solutions will take advantage of existing and future connected infrastructure, and new vehicle technologies.”
“Because of our unprecedented partnerships, cooperation and location, we are fertile ground for entrepreneurs and researchers to respond to this critically important RFI,” said Steve Hill, executive director for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. “For example, the RTC’s Freeway and Arterial System of Transportation (FAST) already has the technology to communicate with computer and internet-connected vehicles at traffic signals to provide helpful feedback not only to motorists, but to pedestrians’ smartphones. I look forward to seeing what leading technology providers can offer as solutions to further these efforts, and ultimately keep our pedestrians safer.”
