Does the Loiret department have a major problem with road accidents?
When it comes to road accidents, the Loiret department is in no state of emergency. The number of deaths and serious injuries has decreased in recent years, now matching the national average. However, challenges still remain, such as addressing the reduction of property damage accidents (which do not involve death or injury, only destruction of car and infrastructure), and identifying the factors responsible. The department is in charge of maintaining its own fast lanes and roads. Now, its goal is to improve its understanding of property damage accidents in order to keep on reducing fatal casualties.
How is data being used to achieve this goal?
Death and injury data provided by law enforcement agencies (e.g. National Gendarmerie) are already being analysed by the Loiret County Council across its territory, but figuring out the causality between road infrastructure, citizen behaviour and accidents is still a tough task, explains Marina Alletti, Open-data Project Manager in Loiret. Having access to data concerning road accidents (casualty and property damage) would allow the Loiret County Council to take preventive actions, such as localised maintenance, and to ensure road safety by providing dynamic and qualitative road services.
A multi-stakeholder data lab is being co-designed by the Loiret County Council, in close collaboration with National Gendarmerie and private actors. Thanks to partner Thélem Assurance (based in Chécy, France), providing anonymous insurance statements since 2017, drawing a parallel with drivers’ attitude on roads will be made possible. The data lab will be the benefit of 10-year historical datasets.
Although combining crash information (number and type of cars involved, hour, localisation, visibility) with statements (by vehicle, type of insurance contract) might seem complicated or imprecise, it is necessary to highlight the relevant cross-sectional data which is not currently being utilised. The main objective here is to identify a common factor between each accident and insurance models.
Considering the complexity of combining such data, what would the solution look like and who will mainly benefit from it?
Artelys has been contracted to develop a working prototype for intelligent processing of road accident data. This will comply with the data privacy policy shared by the National Gendarmerie, Thélem and the Loiret County Council. Other public and private stakeholders might join the rising ecosystem. Outcomes could be presented via a digital platform, including interactive maps and dashboards treating different kind of historical data (road accidents, school holidays, weather conditions, events impacting traffic, etc.), explains Jérôme Baret, GIS project manager in Loiret. The prototype will allow highlighting relevant indicators to assess the territory’s road accident situation and establish predictive algorithms.
Jérôme and Marina explain how the results of such work will benefit all involved partners. The Loiret County Council could take advantage of the platform to better protect citizens and secure its road infrastructures, the National Gendarmerie would optimise its patrol interventions, and Insurance companies could reduce their internal costs by retrieving more knowledge on crashes.
The next steps for the coming months have been clearly defined:
- Brainstorming sessions for assessing partners’ benefits and goals will be organised, involving a wide range of actors
- Specifications for the platform will be detailed through tech workshops
- Evaluating the possibilities to engage with universities and research centres
- Organising a roadshow event about mobility and road safety topics. The roadshow will take place in March 2020 and will gather actual and potential new partners
- Testing the possibility to reuse the prototype in a transnational context with the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (Rijkswaterstaat; RWS)
In which ways has BE-GOOD acted as a lever for the Loiret County Council?
BE-GOOD is enhancing open data pilots, acting as the main engine for the Loiret’s ambition. Thanks to the EU-funded budget and the Loiret’s clear ambitions, BE-GOOD has been able to set up adequate conditions to test new concepts and bring together the road safety ecosystem within the area.
If you want to know more about this challenge, please watch the video below:
Partner: Département du Loiret
Contact:
Marina Alletti
Marina.alletti@loiret.fr
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