In 2020, The World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Regional Commissions, and other stakeholders completed the first decade of the Global Plan for Road Safety Action. After a decade of work (2011-2020), Latin America and the Caribbean have made significant progress in public policy and improved analysis of this complex issue. However, the indicators’ results have been unfavorable.
The road safety flagship report shows that while the efforts of the countries in the region have been insufficient to curb the increase in mortality rates, there is still significant potential for improvement. The current rate is estimated at 18 victims per 100,000 inhabitants, a number we can work together to reduce.
One of the calls of this report, facing the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety (2021-2030), is to encourage countries and cities to invest in data research. This approach aims to identify the principal risks and priority areas to achieve “faster and more significant impacts while working comprehensively to make the mobility system safer.” This aligns with the action axes of the first decade, which aimed to use technologies to complement and reinforce the effectiveness of road safety promotion systems.
In 2022, the IDB launched ViaSegura, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) based tool that efficiently detects road safety elements such as bicycle lanes, roadway delineation and lighting, pavement condition, access points, and intersections, among others. This tool significantly improves decision-making and prioritizes investments to enhance road safety. The code uses trained models and computer vision to score 14 attributes based on the standards of iRAP (International Road Assessment Program), the organization accredited by the United Nations to promote road safety. With this tool, the time for labeling road safety elements and the number of people performing this task is reduced by about 30%, demonstrating its effectiveness and potential for further advancements.
Since its launch, ViaSegura has been used in five countries in Latin America and the Caribbean region, with the support of the IDB. It has evaluated more than 60,000 kilometers of road, allowing road agencies, governments, and other entities to improve the safety of thousands of people. Thanks to its use, investments have been appropriately directed into road infrastructure, preserving the physical integrity of pedestrians, motorcyclists, cyclists, and motorcyclists.
The tool is available as an open-source code on the IDB’s Code for Development platform (Code4Dev), where users can freely discover and reuse the libraries. The IDB has conducted different training sessions through this platform for those interested in using it and can connect through the Code4Dev Slack community.
iRAP has also collaborated with other international partners on similar projects, such as the AiRAP project, to leverage the possibilities of using AI, Machine Learning, and other data sources like telematics or LIDAR. The organization has included ViaSegura in the tools section under the Network Scanning category on its website.
Emerging technologies are an irreversible trend, already starting to yield results for road infrastructure management both within the region and beyond. These tools are just the beginning of the broad possibilities they bring for sustainable and safe transportation systems, serving as lessons learned in the two years of using VíaSegura.
Lessons Learned
- The adoption of technological tools and knowledge transfer processes to their users is essential. Human talent in infrastructure management agencies is necessary to fully leverage AI’s potential.
- The punctual use of technology is beneficial, but having in-house data science teams maximizes investments in innovation and increases the long-term impact of modern management. These teams can reuse their skills to address issues beyond road safety, such as pavement management, tolling, and other road services, generating indirect benefits such as better treasury management, greater sustainability in road maintenance processes, and decreased road congestion.
- ViaSegura promotes cooperation and knowledge exchange between the private sector, governments, and international organizations to leverage the possibilities of using technologies for road safety. Spreading and creating open knowledge, collaborating, sharing experiences, and discovering perspectives have been a legacy of ViaSegura and a call to continue advancing in the region.
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