RTA to release iPhone app aimed at reducing road deaths

A new iPhone app being tested by the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA) could potentially reduce state road fatalities by 8 per cent a year.

“The impetus [for the app] was out of a very successful trial in the Illawarra region that was implemented in 2010 where we installed 106 private vehicles with an Industry Standard Architecture dedicated device,” RTA principal safety analyst, John Wall, told Computerworld Australia.

“This was very similar to a personal navigation device that warned people when they travelled over the speed limits.”

After the trial group racked up more than 1.9 million kilometres in travel, Wall said it became clear that the app, which employs GPS and warns drivers when they are exceeding the speed limit, has the potential to save many lives.

“If everyone behaved the same as they did in the trial, we’d reduce road fatalities by around 8 per cent,” he said.

“We’d save around 35 lives per year... if everyone was driving with this device on the road in NSW.”

Development of the app is set to be completed by June 2012, with Wall saying there are plans to develop an Android version.

“Our result was about a dedicated device installed in the vehicle, and in thinking about it, the goal is to get technology in as many vehicles as we can,” he said.

“I don’t think we’ll go any further than Android and iPhone at this stage unless something [other operating system] comes out of the blue.”

Follow Lisa Banks on Twitter: @CapricaStar

Follow Computerworld Australia on Twitter: @ComputerworldAU

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