AI Tool Predicts Car Crashes
Imagine knowing which roads are most likely to see a serious car crash -- before it happens.
That’s the claim behind “SafeTraffic Copilot,” a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool developed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University. As traffic fatalities and injuries continue to rise across the U.S., this breakthrough offers the potential to understand why crashes happen and how they might be prevented.
Why Predicting Crashes Is So Hard
Car accidents aren’t caused by a single factor. They’re the result of a complex web of conditions, including:
- Weather and visibility
- Traffic volume and patterns
- Time of day and lighting conditions
- Roadway design and maintenance
- Driver behavior, including impairment and negligence
Traditional traffic studies often focus on one factor at a time, as analyzing how all these variables interact has been incredibly difficult. SafeTraffic Copilot intends to change that.
How SafeTraffic Copilot Works
SafeTraffic Copilot is a large language model (LLM), a form of AI that can continuously learn as it’s fed more data. It was trained on an extensive range of information, including:
- Blood alcohol levels
- Police crash reports
- Descriptions of road conditions
- On-site photographs
- Satellite imagery
What makes this tool especially powerful is its ability to evaluate both individual risk factors and combinations of risks. For example, it can analyze how poor lighting, wet pavement, and driver impairment interact to increase crash likelihood on a specific stretch of road. Even more importantly, the system can quantify how reliable its predictions are. As more data is added over time, its insights become increasingly accurate, giving traffic engineers confidence in how the information is used.
A Tool for Prevention, Not Replacement
The researchers behind SafeTraffic Copilot envision the tool not as a decision maker, but a partner: something to identify patterns, risks, and insights that humans - traffic engineers, planners, and policymakers - can use to make informed decisions.
When it’s Not Just An Accident
Not matter what the prediction or outcome, when an accidents is the result of negligence, unsafe behavior, or failures in safety systems, the best move is to discuss your options with a top Philadelphia car accident law firm. At The Duffy Firm, we work to hold negligent drivers accountable and fight for the recompense our clients deserve. Contact us to set up a time to meet at no charge to you, to see if we can be of help.