The Transportation Department, White House and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have issued a call to action that seeks to engage stakeholders in efforts to address the 7.2 percent increase of traffic fatalities in 2015 through the use of data.NHTSA will give access to its Fatality Analysis Reporting System to safety partners, government officials, technologists, data scientists and policy experts that can help identify factors that led to the increase, DoT said Monday.
A White House release stated the joint effort wants organizations, technology companies and the public to analyze NHTSA’s data and help determine the potential impact of economic conditions, climate change, driving behavior and public health on traffic-related accidents.
The White House added mobility analytics company StreetLight Data; location intelligence provider CARTO; traffic and navigation app company Waze; and mapping platform Mapbox have made separate data sharing and tool development commitments to support the call to action.
NHTSA said the rise in fatalities could be caused by increased driving due to job growth and low fuel prices and that human factors contribute to majority of the accidents.
