Skip to main content

Transit bus collision avoidance pilot launched in Washington State

Insurance group Munich Re, in collaboration with the Washington State Transit Insurance Pool (WSTIP), has launched a pilot program top equip transit buses with Mobileye Shield+ collision avoidance technology, installed by Rosco Vision Systems. For the pilot, 38 WSTIP transit buses have been equipped with the technology which claims to enable drivers to avoid and mitigate imminent collisions, protecting the most vulnerable and difficult to observe road users, cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists. Je
March 18, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Insurance group Munich Re, in collaboration with the Washington State Transit Insurance Pool (WSTIP), has launched a pilot program top equip transit buses with 4279 Mobileye Shield+ collision avoidance technology, installed by Rosco Vision Systems.

For the pilot, 38 WSTIP transit buses have been equipped with the technology which claims to enable drivers to avoid and mitigate imminent collisions, protecting the most vulnerable and difficult to observe road users, cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists.

Jerry Spears, deputy director of WSTIP, notes approximately 90 per cent of its large collision-related transit losses are forward-motion collisions with pedestrians, cyclists or motorcyclists. “The purpose of this safety pilot is to utilize innovative technology to prevent these collisions from occurring in the first place, thereby avoiding the devastating consequences these incidents can have on the injured parties and on the drivers,” Spears said

Supported by an IDEA grant from the Transportation Research Board at the National Academies of Science, transportation experts at the University of Washington STAR Labs will analyse both quantitative and qualitative pilot data collected from multiple sources including video, telematics and transit operator surveys.

Related Content

  • July 16, 2012
    Adopting universal technology platforms for tolling
    Dave Marples of Technolution argues that the continuing development of tolling-specific onboard equipment is leading us up a blind alley. We should, he says, be looking to realise universal platforms with universal application. The near-future automobile contains information systems of a sophistication to rival a jet airliner of only a few years ago, yet is 'piloted' by a considerably less well-trained individual of highly variable mental and physical capacity, and operated in a hostile, unpredictable and p
  • February 21, 2014
    Exchanging Places event causes cyclists to rethink their cycling habits
    Almost everyone who got behind the wheel of a heavy goods vehicle at the London Bike Show said that the experience caused them to rethink the way they cycle. More than 850 cyclists took part in Exchanging Places run by Crossrail and the Metropolitan Police Service, which allows them to see the road from a lorry driver’s point of view and get a better understanding of what drivers can and cannot see. Most were unaware of the size of blind spots from inside the driver’s cab. Chief Superintendent Sultan
  • November 10, 2015
    User-based insurance joins the battle for big data
    User-based insurance is blazing a trail others would like to follow and is also discovering the challenges. The ITS sector needs to keep a very careful eye on the automotive industry: “There’s a war going on in the connected car space creating richer datasets than we ever imagined possible” says Paul Stacy, research and development director of Wunelli, part of the LexisNexis group. The car makers have gone way beyond infotainment, unlocking huge amounts of data in the process … facts and figures which the i
  • February 16, 2015
    Greater Cleveland tests collision avoidance systems
    The Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (RTA), in partnership with the Battelle Memorial Institute, will develop and test collision avoidance systems for its 500 bus fleet that serves Cuyahoga County, thanks to a US$2.7 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration. The collision avoidance technology is similar to that currently available in high-end automobiles. It detects, warns and even automatically stops the vehicle when getting too close to another object. “RTA is at the national for