Michigan hopes to cut public transit crashes using thermal cameras - mlive.com

Oct 31, 2024

A bus driver operates a bus on Thursday, March 19, 2020. Michigan is partnering with a handful of transit agencies to test out thermal imaging cameras in an effort to reduce crashes with pedestrians and bicyclists. (Cory Morse | MLive.com file photo)Cory Morse | MLive.com

Michigan plans to test thermal imaging cameras on public transit vehicles in an effort to reduce crashes with bicyclists and pedestrians.

The state’s Department of Transportation (MDOT) received a federal grant worth $551,732 to help fund the program, officials announced Wednesday, Oct. 30.

Up to 60 vehicles ranging from vans to buses and large motorcoaches will test out the cameras in both urban and rural settings.

Initial transit agencies participating in the program include Port Huron-based Blue Water Area Transit, the city of Alma, Battle Creek-based Community Action Agency of South Central Michigan, and the Detroit/Ann Arbor-based Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan.

Jean Ruestman, administrator for MDOT’s Office of Passenger Transportation, said the program 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,” Ruestman said.

Bus-to-person collisions accounted for 7,329 injuries and 537 deaths nationally between 2008 and 2021, according to the National Transit Database.

Michigan‘s annual traffic crash data doesn’t include the type of vehicle used in a pedestrian- or bicycle-involved crash, but there were 2,114 pedestrians and 1,480 bicyclists involved in vehicle crashes in 2023. Those crashes resulted in 183 pedestrians and 24 bicyclists being killed.

Related: Michigan reports 4-year high for bicyclists, pedestrians struck by vehicles

Brett Baublitz, transportation director for the Alma Transit Center, said the thermal camera systems could also help drivers detect incoming deer earlier to avoid costly crashes.

The grant comes via the Federal Highway Administration’s Advanced Transportation Technology and Innovation program.

Other partners for the program include Magna Electronics, which manufacturers thermal imaging cameras; Lynred, which makes thermal sensors; and Menlo Innovations, an Ann Arbor-based software company that will provide transit providers with reports following the program.

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