Leading global insurer
Munich Re has launched a pilot program equipping US transit buses with a collision avoidance technology, a project that is part of the company’s efforts to develop new solution for mobility risks.
The insurer equipped 38 transit buses from the Washington State Transit Insurance Pool (WSTIP) with Mobileye Shield, the advanced driver assistance technology that allows drivers to avoid and mitigate imminent collisions. The technology also protects the most vulnerable and difficult to observe road users: cyclists, pedestrians and motorcyclists.
Brian Viscusi, Munich Re America senior vice president for alternative markets, said the pilot program is better than having to wait for collision avoidance equipment to become standard on new buses which could take 12 to 18 years.
“This proactive approach to retrofitting current bus fleets will allow transit agencies to improve safety and reduce losses in the near term,” he said.
Transportation experts at the University of Washington STAR Labs will analyze data collected from the pilot program, which is expected to produce “significant” benefits such as reduction in the number of fatalities and injuries from collisions, said Mike Scrudato, Munich Re America senior vice president for new strategic markets.
“On an economic scale, an improved safety record for transit agencies would ultimately translate into reduced losses for the transit agency as well as their insurer,” he said.
Latest data from the National Transit Database show that transit agencies nationwide reported 3,260 collisions that led to 13,000 injuries and 92 fatalities yearly and casualty and liability expenses worth over $438 million.
While the number of injuries has declined from 2002 to 2011, severity remains an issue since casualty and liability expenses increases by 2.8 per cent each year, according to the National Transit Database.
WSTIP deputy director Jerry Spears also noted that about 90 per cent of their large collision-related transit losses are forward motion collisions with pedestrians, bicyclists or motorcyclists.
