Transportation company using artificial intelligence to improve road safety

Can AI be used to make streets safer? CTV’s Heather Senoran talks to a driver using a special surveillance system.

A transportation company is using an artificial intelligence system to detect dangerous driving behaviours on the road.

Transdev Voyago is using technology created by Genuine Tracking Solutions in its transit vehicles and non-emergency transportation vehicles. It uses live cameras and telematics to identify potential threats or concerns.

“It looks at standard telematics stuff. So, following too closely, speeding, harsh braking, harsh turning, harsh acceleration,” said Chris Stoodley, the director of safety at Transdev Voyago.

The cameras are not only pointing on the road but also pointing at the driver

“And what that’s looking for is drowsiness, distraction. If they’re not paying attention, if they’re looking away repeatedly, it will capture that. And it will notify the driver of their behavior so that they can focus on driving,” Stoodley said.

Stoodley received an email alerting him that his driver of a non-emergency medical vehicle, David Bain, was asleep at the wheel – but don’t be alarmed, it was only part of a demonstration. Bain’s partner was in the passenger seat, helping make sure the test was safe.

“I was going under 15km/h in an empty parking lot. And then I was told to close my eyes while she spotted me and make sure I was okay,” Bain told CTV News at their Kitchener facility.

Bain said the alert was jarring and would wake anyone up if they were really dozing off.

“There’s an audible warning, and it’s quite loud. The camera says, ‘warning, warning. Drowsiness alert, drowsiness alert. And then takes a picture and sends it to Chris,” he said.

Bain said he mostly trains now but started his career as a driver. He said the 12-hour shifts can include a lot of time on the road.

“Sometimes there’s long hauls. We don’t just stay in Kitchener-Waterloo We can do facility transfers from Ottawa to Kitchener or Kitchener to Ottawa,” he said.

Bain said he feels more comfortable with the system in place as the people he transports are stable but still need help.

“So could be anyone who’s had a bad fall that isn’t able to walk anymore. It could be someone who was going for cancer treatments or even dialysis. And they’re too weak to get themselves there,” Bain said.

The goal down the road is to put the system in their school busses. They deploy hundreds throughout Waterloo Region.

“I think it should be in every vehicle. I think it’s a fantastic system and it only benefits drivers on the road and people around,” said Stoodley.

Transdev believes they are among the first transit operators in Canada to adopt this type of AI in real world operations.

Since they started rolling out this technology in the last three years, Transdev said there’s been a 10 per cent drop in preventable collisions.