In-vehicle data could improve UK road safety

The Connected Places Catapult (CPC) says that connected vehicle data has the potential to end the scourge of potholes, improve driver behaviour and reduce the impact of incidents on UK roads.

It has conducted a stakeholder workshop seeking to understand what challenges would need to be overcome to unlock the value of this data in the UK.

The research follows a report, published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), claiming that 71% of new vehicles registered in the UK in 2019 were connected.

The CPC identified challenges including improving public and business trust in data sharing, lack of awareness of existing standards and technology maturity levels.

A key theme highlighted throughout the research was the need for a more strategic approach across the sector, which brings together isolated and uncoordinated development activities and joins existing information.

Industry leaders who took part in the research called for a number of activities to be launched in the UK before 2025 to address these challenges. These included tasks around skill development, technology development, identification of business benefits and updating regulation.

Henry Tse, CPC director of New Mobility Technologies, said: “There is a market need to pull data and insights together and increase knowledge-sharing across the connected vehicle sector, rather than it be stored in disparate locations.

“Doing this will unlock a host of benefits which could improve road safety for users, unlock economic benefits through a more efficient transport system and create innovative new businesses and services.

“We are now recommending the establishment of a consortium which can support and guide the activities and projects in this area, create a clear industry vision and accelerate the value the UK gets from this data in the new decade.”

Iain Forbes, head of the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, added: “In-vehicle data offers a host of potential benefits to UK consumers. This roadmap is a useful contribution to the essential work on how this data could be used to unlock exciting new services in a safe and sustainable way.”

A full summary of findings can be found here.