Michelin technology looks to curb wrong-way driving

GREENVILLE, S.C.—As a mobility company, Michelin's primary focus is on the safety, performance and sustainability of its tires.

But that's not the only focus.

The tire maker is committed to safer roadways, too.

Through Michelin DDi, the company is bringing forward the kind of technology designed to addresses road safety by identifying areas of concern. And it does so through data collection and analysis that pinpoints problems and offers insights into potential solutions.

Now, Michelin has taken another step forward in helping to create safer roads with the launch of a new service intended to help curb another growing traffic trend: wrong way driving.

"Research has found that there are several factors which can be associated with wrong-way driving," Erik Dietz, chief operating officer for Michelin DDi, said in a statement. "Road design is not the only root cause increasing the risk of wrong-way driving events, but it can be a key contributing factor. With this new service, we want to help road managers by arming them with life-saving data and insights on wrong-way driving hotspots, empowering them to prevent further incidents in their network."

The technology, set to debut March 22-23 at the Autonomy Mobility World Expo in Paris, relies on the data from more than 40 million connected drivers across North America. To identify potential problem spots for wrong-way driving, the technology—part of Michelin's Safer Roads services suite—detects and locates wrong-way driving incidents while also identifying point of entry and duration of the incident.

Moreover, when considered within the full picture of Michelin's data collection efforts, the technology can offer deeper insights into what else was occurring at the time of wrong-way driving incident. Insights into harsh braking or cell phone usage, for instance, can shed greater light on the wrong-way driving occurrences and allow for better allocation of funds and resources to address problem areas.

"This is a great opportunity for municipalities and governments to identify wrong-way hotspots, which can help them act before crashes occur by implementing changes when road design or signage is involved in the identified areas," Dietz said. "It is a step further toward Vision Zero by helping to reduce crashes as a result of wrong-way driving events and save more lives."

Analysis from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reported in March 2021 that the number of wrong-way driving incidents on divided highways resulted in 500 deaths per year between 2015-18. It marked a 34-percent increase from the previous incident analysis period (2010-2014).

At the time, AAA noted that wrong-way crashes are more likely to result in fatalities because they often occur with head-on collisions.

Factors contributing to the incidents included alcohol impairment, age and driving without passengers in the vehicle, according to AAA.