My two jobs - CEO and Dad. Why we fight for technology to save lives.
It’s Halloween and I’m writing this on a flight home from Detroit. I just had the privilege of speaking at the University of Michigan on the safety benefits of connected and autonomous vehicle technologies. It’s always great to be in this research institution and see all the amazing work going on, the deployments on the system in Ann Arbor and surrounding communities. I will come back to why this work is so important.
With my job done for the day, my brain is transitioning to my more important work life - being a Dad. Halloween is an exciting time in our household. For me, it’s the only day of the year that I get to have “hair,” as I usually don a costume involving slightly pungent hockey equipment and a classic hockey mullet. Business in the front, party in the back. My daughters will be squirming with excitement as they have figured out the candy aspects of the holiday. And tomorrow, our older daughter will turn 5, an important milestone and another reason for celebrating.
Life is good. Life is precious.
But for too many people, life is unpredictable. Life is tragic.
During my time as the leader of the departments of transportation in Colorado and Delaware, I would get an email whenever there was a fatality on our system. My first year in Colorado, I got that email 484 times. When I left a few years later, I received that terrible email 714 times. We always talk about towards zero deaths and in much of the country, we are heading the wrong way.
Last year, 38,164 people died on American roadways. Next year, I’m sure the number will be somewhat higher. But included in that number will be three young children, two 6-year old twins and their 9-year old sister, killed in a tragic crash in Indiana yesterday. For that family, Halloween will forever have a different meaning. As I race home to be with my children, I can only imagine the unspeakable grief being felt in that home - in too many homes across the country. It makes me sick to my stomach.
By deploying technologies that are available today that allow vehicles to communicate with other vehicles - like school buses - and our infrastructure, we can truly begin to turn the tide. We can truly live up to our vision of a world with zero deaths on our roadways.
Please join us to prevent future tragedies. We can have a better world that is transformed by intelligent mobility. One that is greener and smarter. And most importantly, safer.
Please be safe on the roads tonight.
BI & analytical dashboards development. COO at Cobit Solutions
2yGreat post!
Transportation Efficiency Expert, Speaker, Designer, Author, CEO/CHB ET3 Global Alliance
5yThe 38k US transport deaths fall into two classes: 1) failure to control the vehicle (includes failure to inspect/maintain), and 2) failure to control the ROW (includes failure to mitigate weather, and other impediments). ITS attacks the first class, but is greatly complicated by the second class. Full isolation of the ROW (as in Evacuated Tube Transport Technologies ET3(tm)) greatly simplifies vehicle control, AND more than doubles safety made available through automation of cars on freeways. On a passenger-mile basis Commercial Jets and high-speed-rail (HSR) are about 15 times safer than cars on roads. ITS has potential to reduce car deaths by a factor of 5 or 10. ( but still more dangerous than jets or HSR). Fully automated and isolated tech such as ET3 is likely to offer at least 10 times higher safety than jets and HSR.
Actively seeking Account/Territory Manager/ Business Development Role with MFG
5yAbsolutely! Totally agree with that statement! Thank you.
Traffic Engineer @ Avenue Consultants
5yThanks for sharing Shailen, and thank you for your work!