A new pilot program by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser will send messages to drivers who are at risk of getting into a serious crash throughout the District.
The program is a part of the Mayor’s Vision Zero initiative that aims to eliminate traffic-related deaths. The two-year study will evaluate whether targeted messages to drivers who have a history of fast driving, helps decrease red-light and speeding violations.
A 2015 report from the Journal of Traffic and Engineering found that drivers with multiple traffic violations are more likely to be involved in crashes.
Overall, the goal is to see if the messages aid in helping to eliminate the amount of traffic deaths.
The program will use data from speed cameras around the city to help the Mayor’s office develop a model that would randomly message drivers they deem to be at a high-risk for crashing.
The goal is to see if those drivers decrease their speeds compared to those who they aren’t sending messages to.
The pilot program is designed to help the District learn whether messaging can change drivers behavior in order to make the roads safer.
