20 Oct AI could reduce fire fighters’ call outs

With many fire crews also attending road traffic accidents, developing artificial intelligence to make roads safer could help reduce the number of incidents fire fighting teams are called out to.

The UN is urging countries to step up their development of artificial intelligence in a bid to make the roads a safer place. The Sustainable Development Goals include a call to action to halve the annual rate of road deaths globally and by 202 to have achieved safe, affordable, sustainable transport for all.

According to the World Health Organization, road traffic injury death rates are highest in the African region. Now AI could play its part in public safety, and ease the workload required of the area’s firefighting teams.

The new AI for Road Safety Initiative could reduce the number of people who die as a result of traffic accident – which the World Health Organisation says stands at 1.3million people globally every year.

The use of AI can help in a number of ways including better collection and analysis of crash data; improved road infrastructure; inspiring innovation in the regulatory frameworks; and, most importantly for fire teams, increasing the efficiency of the post-crash response.