Thermal cameras will be added to some transit vehicles as part of a program to decrease the number of crashes involving pedestrians and bicyclists.
The Michigan Department of Transportation is receiving a $551,732 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration to install these cameras.
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In 2023, the number of crashes involving road users, increased by 10%, according to Michigan State Police. Pedestrian-involved crashes increased by 11%, with 2,114 crashes, and bicycle-involved crashes increased by 10% with 1,480 crashes.
The new thermal cameras will help detect pedestrians and bicyclists in different lighting conditions and environments.
“We are very pleased to have received this grant from our federal partners to improve safety, which ultimately could be a game-changer for public transit agencies across the country,” said Jean Ruestman, MDOT Office of Passenger Transportation administrator. “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.”
The partner agencies will test the thermal cameras on 60 transit vehicles, including vans and large motorcoaches.
The agencies that were chosen for this project include the:
- Blue Water Area Transit
- City of Alma
- Community Action Agency of South Central Michigan
- Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan (RTA)
“As a college town and a multimodal community with pedestrians, bicyclists and an ever-growing population of electric bicycles, unleashing this new technology will help prevent pedestrian/vehicle conflicts and save lives,” said Brett Baublitz, Alma Transit Center transportation director.
These thermal cameras will also help with crashes involving deer in Michigan communities.
“The City of Alma and surrounding service areas also have a large whitetail deer population,” said Baublitz. “The thermal camera systems will save on vehicle repairs by detecting oncoming deer earlier to avoid crashes. This reduces vehicle downtime while maintaining accessibility to our riders by keeping our fleet on the road.”
