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20 Big Data Analytics for Connected Vehicles and Smart Cities Questions to Be Addressed 21

improvements, a whole new set of questions regarding the effects of safety im-
provements can be posited. A simple before-and-after comparison of key factors
can identify the precise effects of a safety improvement. It may also be necessary
to take account of other factors that may be influencing improvement in safety,
such as overall economic conditions and enhancements in vehicle and road
technology.

What Are the Effects of Safety Improvements?
Ideally, an investment in a safety improvement will lead to a positive return
on investment, with the safety benefits quantified exceeding the overall cost of
the improvement. This question has two dimensions. On the one hand, it is
necessary to measure the effect of the safety improvement in terms of accident
reduction, reduction in accident severity, and the overall impact of crashes on
the economy. On the other hand, it is also necessary to measure the investment
in terms of capital and operating funding. Estimation of these costs is required
to answer the question completely in terms of absolute impact and efficiency of
the safety investment in terms of the improvement per dollar.

2.7 Efficiency-Related Questions

The efficiency-related questions are many and varied but all revolve around
obtaining the highest value from the smallest amount of expenditure. This also
includes the prioritization or targeting of investments to ensure that money
is spent wisely. This can also include an assessment of complementary invest-
ments that reinforce each other rather than conflict with, or negate, each other.

Where Are the Bottlenecks and Slowdowns in the Transportation System?
This question can be asked differently depending on the mode of transportation
being considered. For example, the private car mode question can be addressed
by measuring traffic speeds or travel times and comparing these across the en-
tire road network. For a transit system, absolute vehicle speed is less important
than station-to-station travel times and the overall time from the traveler’s ori-
gin to final destination. Bottlenecks can be identified based on a preprepared
and agreed on definition or template. This can be used to identify bottlenecks
within a large data set using pattern analysis.
From a freight perspective, end-to-end travel times are an important
part of the question along with delays incurred in interchange between freight
modes—for example, the time taken to move the load from rail to road or vice
versa.