Why road safety should be based on numbers?

Karolina 22.07.2019


According to the WHO reports UAE used to be one of the most dangerous places for motorists in the world. In 2013 there were more than 18 road fatalities per 100 000 inhabitants per year. In 2017, the number of deaths caused due to road accidents decreased to 525 and the rate of road traffic deaths decreased to 4.5 per 100 000 people. The latest data available on the UAE’s data portal Bayanat.ae shows that the 2018 road toll was a fraction of global averages, with 3.38 people per 100 000 road users losing their lives on Dubai’s roads. How was such a spectacular success possible in such a short time? The key is a well-prepared strategy. 

In an attempt to prevent road accidents and reduce its impact on lives different UAE government entities have launched initiatives and awareness campaigns to lessen the impact of traffic fatalities. One of the pillars of this strategy is influencing drivers’ behavior and changing dangerous habits. How this can be done?

One of the most effective ways is to use the power of numbers. There are already systems available on the market that, thanks to advanced algorithms and mathematical models, are able to accurately assess the driving style of a particular driver and offer him personalized tips. An example of such a system is SparkT – a platform for evaluating a driver’s driving behaviour created by a European company Sparkbit.

SparkT is a fully-featured platform that uses real-time sensor data from various devices to track and analyze driver behavior and measure vehicle performance. The system works based on different data sources such as smartphone sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, GPS), BLE (Bluetooth low energy devices), OBD2. This data, in turn, is enriched with the information from the 3rd party data sources such as weather conditions, traffic regulations, road infrastructure or type of settlement. Thanks to the information obtained from various sensors as well as using advanced algorithms and models, the system is able in real-time to detect events such as aggressive acceleration, sudden braking, dangerous turning, exceeding the speed limit and in turn create an individualized profile of each driver.

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