The drive to use AI for safer roads

The new initiative comes during the UN's Second Decade of Action for Road Safety, 2021-2030. "This new decade of action is very different… due to the wealth of tools we have at our disposal now," said Jean Todt, the UN Special Envoy for Road Safety. Regulators and the industry ought to promote the smart vehicle safety technologies available now instead of waiting for future, fully autonomous solutions, reiterated Jessica Truong of the Towards Zero Foundation, which seeks to end road fatalities. In addition to saving lives, AI-driven features make road travel easier. They can "optimize road and traffic management, or even provide warnings of potentially dangerous driving behaviours," noted Maria-Francesca Spatolisano, currently heading the Office of the UN Envoy on Technology.