Drivers in Israel monitor road safety

In Israel, engineers have developed a technology that allows drivers to film and report traffic incidents as they drive.

Across the globe, we have seen technology used to improve road safety. Traffic police in China’s Jiangsu province raised awareness about traffic regulations by gamifying the process. And in Norway an app encourages children to become agents of change, logging safe and unsafe road conditions on their way to school. In a similar approach, in Israel, the new ‘Guardians of the Road’ program uses technology to encourage drivers to be active participants in curbing the country’s increasing amount of fatal car accidents

The app allows volunteer Israeli drivers to report driving violations to the Israeli Police Traffic Department. Users attach their phone to the dashboard and film as they drive. Although it films the roads constantly, the app is voice activated. When they encounter an incident, drivers can choose to provide commentary and send footage to the authorities. The technology was developed by the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology as a joint venture between the National Road Safety Authority, Israel Police Traffic Department and the NGO Nativ Batch. So far, 7,500 incidents have been recorded in a trial run.

Traffic accidents in Israel spiked to up 35% in 2015 compared to previous years. Road safety is an increasing problem in a number of cities. Will similar innovations be replicated across other countries?