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Does Big Data Hold the Clue to Traffic Fatalities?


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A fender bender.

Researchers at Pennsylvania State University are developing a framework that will permit them to evaluate auto accident data to find patterns related to injuries and deaths.

Credit: Allstate.com

Pennsylvania State University (PSU) researchers are developing a high-performance computing-based framework to evaluate automotive accident data from police reports across California to find patterns related to deaths and severe injuries.

The researchers plan to create software that can read the large datasets of traffic information and possibly uncover the common factors in deadly accidents.

Statistical analysis of large accident datasets involves hundreds of variables, and there is no true computational method for estimating complex fatality models from large datasets. The research is "a tool for discovery and has the potential to provide unique insight into the contexts in which fatalities and severe injuries occur," says PSU professor Venky Shankar.

If the researchers are successful in developing software that can indicate the factors associated with fatal and severe accidents, they plan to apply it to other states' traffic data. "If we can create a tool that is fast, and provides quick-response analysis for national safety policy, we can move one step closer to reducing fatalities and severe injuries by one-half," Shankar says.

From Government Computer News
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Abstracts Copyright © 2016 Information Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA


 

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