MI: Can Michigan's Thermal Cameras Curb Costly Bus Collisions?

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will receive half a million dollars in federal funding to install 60 thermal imaging cameras on the state's public transit buses and vans.

The goal is for the cameras to improve detection of pedestrians, cyclists and even animals in a variety of lighting conditions and operating environments. State officials are calling the idea an innovative use of the technology that could be a "game-changer" for public transit agencies across the country.

"While some high-end automobiles have thermal cameras, no transit vehicles currently have this technology, so my staff worked hard in researching this technology, making contacts and applying for this grant to make it a reality," said Jean Ruestman, MDOT Office of Passenger Transportation administrator, in a press release.

Government Technology delved into the data to uncover how lighting and visually impairing weather conditions contribute to collisions to get insights about if thermal cameras could impact safety.

How often are public buses hitting people or animals?

To better understand what's happening on the roadways, we referred to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Major Safety Events data set, a list of all major safety and security events reported by public transit providers who are full reporters since 2014. These agencies typically operate a fleet of more than 30 vehicles in maximum revenue service; often provide regular, scheduled service over fixed routes; and tend to be located in urbanized areas or operate larger-scale transit systems.

While this data provides valuable insights into collision trends among larger transit agencies, it's important to note that it may not fully capture the safety challenges faced by smaller, rural transit systems with limited reporting requirements, potentially leaving a gap in our understanding of the full impact of these incidents.

For a streamlined analysis, we exclusively examined the data for collisions that occurred with a person or an animal and a commuter bus, bus or bus rapid transit vehicle.

A documented 4,855 bus versus person or animal collisions have occurred since 2014. The collisions resulted in 358 deaths and 4,868 injuries. The frequency of these incidents was at the highest in 2014, dipped during the COVID-19 lockdowns and by the end of 2023 was climbing back to pre-pandemic numbers.

How many collisions may have been due to visual impairments?

Mapping the FTA data of bus versus people or animal collisions across the country illustrates that crashes happen in a variety of lighting conditions with no obvious regional trends.

While nearly 65 percent of collisions happened in daylight, this likely reflects the fact that most buses operate during those hours. About 30 percent of collisions happened in the dark, suggesting low visibility may warrant the need for targeted safety measures.

What kind of weather do bus collisions occur in?

Weather conditions may also play a role in bus driver visibility. According to the FTA data, about 10 percent of the time when a bus has struck a person or animal it's raining, snowing, sleeting, foggy or misty. Even in daylight, factors like fog, rain and the glare of the sun may have an impact.

The data highlights the potential value of technologies like thermal cameras that can "see" in low-visibility conditions.

However, more than half of the time a bus has collided with a person or animal, it was daylight and clear. This suggests that while geothermal cameras could have avoided some bus collisions, they likely wouldn't have played a major role in most. Bus driver training and other technology not related to visual sight would be an essential piece of the puzzle in correcting these situations.

What's the impact of public buses hitting wildlife?

The city of Alma, Mich., will be receiving some of the geothermal cameras from the federal grant. In addition to the potential to save human lives, Alma Transit Center Transportation Director Brett Baublitz pointed to the cameras' ability to avoid collisions with local wildlife.

"The city of Alma and surrounding service areas also have a large whitetail deer population. The thermal camera systems will save on vehicle repairs by detecting oncoming deer earlier to avoid crashes," said Baublitz. "This reduces vehicle downtime while maintaining accessibility to our riders by keeping our fleet on the road."

Analyzing property damage data from FTA reveals that collisions with animals can have an impact on a public transit agency's bottom line. There were 35 bus versus animal collisions documented from full reports to the FTA in the last 10 years. A total of 27 people were injured, many from broken glass or the sudden impact of a hard brake. The incidents involved deer, dogs, cows and even geese.

The average cost of damage was about $5,300, while some incidents caused no property damage costs. The most expensive crash occurred in Merced, Calif., in 2020 when cows were running across the road and hit the right passenger side of the vehicle, causing $100,000 in damage.

What's Next?

The effectiveness of the cameras will be evaluated by Menlo Innovations, an Ann Arbor-based custom software design and development company that will conduct an independent evaluation for each transit provider, then generate reports to assess the effectiveness of the technology and identify challenges and best practices.

The $551,732 grant for Michigan's geothermal cameras comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration's Advanced Transportation Technology and Innovation (ATTAIN) program. The ATTAIN program is investing more than $96 million in advanced technology grants in 16 states to improve safety and reduce travel times.

"The Biden-Harris Administration continues to advance projects that are modernizing the transportation sector and improving access, efficiency, and safety for all travelers," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a statement. "With this latest round of funding, we're helping states across the country develop the innovative, multimodal solutions that will make travel on our highways and transit systems easier, safer, and more convenient."

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