The collaboration represents the first of its kind in the UK focusing on Road Safety. It involves upgrading 32 existing sensors across local West Midlands authorities to incorporate the Near Miss feature. This feature analyses object speed and path data to assess the likelihood of collisions between road users. VivaCity anticipates this advanced road safety data will assist local authorities, including TfWM, in pinpointing and addressing dangerous locations and hotspots in their road network.

The initiative comprises two phases: initially, the monitoring of insights from VivaCity’s Near Miss data over a six to twelve-month period. The subsequent phase involves utilizing these insights to select future locations for sensor upgrades. The project's overarching goal is to more effectively identify the fundamental causes of collisions, understand why they occur, and suggest potential preventative measures.

VivaCity's collaboration with the West Midlands includes past projects like traffic monitoring with WM5G and Air Quality monitoring with Vaisala. These projects have already brought innovation to the region's traffic networks and reduced congestion. This new project will specifically focus on implementing the Near Miss technology to boost road safety. Analysing data trends will support the prevention of future incidents in common accident hotspots and align with TfWM’s Road Safety Strategy.

Mark Nicholson, CEO and Co-Founder of VivaCity, remarked: “The upgrade of our existing sensors to include Near Miss will aid in our goal of diagnosing the root causes of dangerous road users interactions over the coming months. We aim to use the collated data to improve road safety throughout the West Midlands, and in turn, identify more hotspots that could be vital to reducing traffic incidents. This partnership is a positive step in improving road safety in the UK.”

Andy Street, Mayor of West Midlands and chair of the WMCA, expressed: “Our existing partnership is going a long way in future-proofing our road networks, however, with the added benefits of Near Miss technology, local authorities will be empowered to help prevent future road collisions by being aware of issues before the worst happens. Our shared mission is to innovate road traffic networks to make improvements for local people across the board. Road safety is of paramount importance so it is great to be working with VivaCity to help make this a reality.”

Adam Tranter, the Mayor’s Cycling & Walking Commissioner, stated: “Road safety is a top priority, and we need to use all the tools at our disposal if we are to reach Vision Zero. VivaCity’s Near Miss technology highlights issues which usually fly under the radar but that may need further investigation and improvement. The Near Miss technology is focused on protecting vulnerable road users, pedestrians and cyclists, from harm and I’m grateful to VivaCity for their continued collaboration on our shared mission to make our roads safer.”