Miscellaneous
Imagine being able to prevent many of the 40,000 deaths in the United States that result from automobile accidents every year. That’s the near future envisioned by Rana Sen, managing director of Deloitte Consulting LLP, in his exclusive interview with Gil Gross, the host of We The States, the official podcast of the National Governors Association. From fiber-optic roadways to data-collecting street lamps, states and cities are poised to transform our infrastructure and provide instantaneous, life-saving information. “We have gotten to a point where we accept zero deaths from commercial aviation. Especially in the United States,” says Mr. Sen. “In the mobility world, when it comes to cars and automotive and pedestrians and bikes, there are some technology solutions that we should start looking at.”Mr. Sen expounds upon how municipalities and states can combine forces to radically change how we think about transportation safety.“Multiple states are looking into it: How do you install let's say optic fiber under road surfaces to make the state Department of Transportation aware of the changing circumstances to different weather patterns?” Mr. Sen believes we can get actionable information “to prevent accidents rather than reacting to [data] when I get a notification that there is a 14-car pileup.”The technologies also hold the potential to improve lives in other ways, like helping frustrated drivers find parking spots. But they also raises concerns about privacy and data security.Listen to this fascinating conversation about state and local governments can collaborate on the transformation of our current infrastructure to improve transportation safety.