Early Detection of Dangerous Areas in road traffic using smart data

The risk potential on German roads remains high: Even in 2020 with less traffic due to the Covid-pandemic, the police counted 264,000 traffic accidents with people injured or killed . Improvements have been scarce and the numbers have been stagnating over the last decade. Especially in cities, this trend is due to increased traffic volume, new means of transport (such as pedelecs, small electric vehicles) and distraction when driving. Dangerous situations are often misjudged or not recognized on time. The goal of EDDA+ (acronym for "Early Detection of Dangerous Areas in road traffic using smart data", German: FeGiS+) is to identify risks in road traffic at an early stage to avoid collisions by means of timely warnings or preventive measures. We want to achieve this by making better use of existing safety-related data and tapping into new data sources, thus contributing to better road safety. On the one hand, the EDDA+ information is to be incorporated into intelligent applications for road users to provide timely warnings of danger zones and to indicate safe routes in terms of roads, cycle paths and footpaths. On the other hand, this continuously updated data is to be compiled on a platform and made available for the first time throughout Germany to those involved in road safety work such as local authorities, police, science, engineering offices, navigation providers and car manufacturers for road safety and prevention work.

Project activities

If you work together with external partners, list the most important partners and briefly describe their role.

Besides the Initiative for Safer Roads as designated coordinator of the research project the following affiliated partners are involved: The Institute of Highway Engineering Aachen (ISAC) of RWTH Aachen Universitiy: Amongst others a special focus of the institute resides in road construction technology, road planning, operation and traffic engineering, which includes issues like traffic safety and accident research. Within EDDA+ the ISAC is in charge of analysing, processing and validating relevant traffic data generated by different sources. German Police University (Deutsche Hochschule der Polizei (DHPol)) Department of Traffic Science & Traffic Psychology: The interdisciplinary team of the German Police University consists of scientists and police officers. They contribute their scientific as well as their police related expertise in basic and applied research to the project. Planung Transport Verkehr AG (PTV): PTV develops software solutions for transport logistics, traffic planning and traffic management. The software Vistad is used by police authorities in 11 federal states of Germany and by various municipalities for accident data collection and analysis. Within the framework of EDDA+ PTV specializes on the data exchange between the police, local authorities and traffic planners as well as on the increased use of this data to improve traffic safety. DTV-Verkehrsconsult GmbH: Independent engineering consultancy which offers services in the sectors of traffic data, traffic planning, traffic safety and traffic technology. While contributing its expertise in traffic data analysis for local authorities, engineers, universities and private organisations, DTV also provides relevant insights and long-term experience in traffic safety screening (TSS) in the state of Baden-WÃ¼rttemberg. The research project EDDA+ is funded by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) within the framework of the funding scheme "mFUND" in the second funding stage.

Please describe the project activities you carried/are carrying out and the time period over which these were implemented.

For the collection of road user reports, the platform and app gefahrenstellen.de (dangerspots.org) was developed, which allows road users from all over Germany to report and comment danger zones on a map thus taking advantage of a systematic crowdsourcing approach. The proactive reports from road users can be used to make near-crashes and minor crashes visible which have not been reported to the police and which could indicate a potential new accident blackspot. Thanks to the extensive reporting in Newspapers, Web portals and on radio and TV, a total of 5,400 danger reports with around 6,600 supporters were generated. For local authorities and the police, a login area and advanced PRO version has been developed as pro.gefahrenstellen.de. Authorised registered users have access to sophisticated analysis and filter tools. All data and its representation can be customized according to the needs and desired time periods. This PRO version is currently undergoing testing within a restricted number of city partners. The development of the algorithm for the aforementioned hazard score is well under way. Based on in-depth data sets for the main test region of Aachen, the hazard score is being tested and refined and is also undergoing "reality-checks". I.e. proactive site inspections with road safety experts are conducted at the danger spots which have been identified by EDDA+ in order to assess the validity and rating of the hazard scoring system. This process will continue in different cities until the end of the year.

List the actions you carried/are carrying out

Date

Thursday, 26 May, 2022

Evaluation

What has been the effect of the activities?

For example, proactive site inspections with road safety experts are conducted at the danger spots which have been identified by EDDA+ in order to assess the validity and rating of the hazard scoring system. This process is started in Dresden and will continue in different cities until the end of the year.

Please briefly explain why your initiative is a good example of improving road safety.

Road users from all over Germany can report danger spots in road traffic via the app or website gefahrenstellen.de (dangerspots.org). These hazard points are compared with other data sources, such as official collision data and kinematic data (vehicle motion data from cars and smartphones). The blending and analysis of this data is intended to identify danger zones at an early stage and to weight them by means of a "danger score". To ensure that data can be updated regularly, uniform data formats and automated interfaces for the various data sources are defined as part of the project. At the same time, the highest priority is given to the processing of data in compliance with data protection regulations and the transparent handling of information. Furthermore, the intention of EDDA+ is to generate a new database for up-to-date information about danger spots and thus, the EDDA+ approach could also serve as blueprint for other countries (road safety in Europe). Along this line, the development plan of the research project also includes a test of the applicability of the FeGiS+ approach in neighbouring European countries.

How have you shared information about your project and its results?

Yes, visit links.

Early Detection of Dangerous Areas in road traffic using smart data