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Henderson using artificial intelligence to predict traffic crashes

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LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The city of Henderson is hoping artificial intelligence could make their roads safer by cutting back on the number of crashes.

"We want to use technology that would improve the quality of life of residents here," says Lee Grant, an IT manager with the city of Henderson.

The technology called Waycare can help predict when and where a crash is likely to happen. It uses traffic cameras, sensors, the Waze app, and historical data to find patterns and trends.

"A trend, like every Friday at 5:17 at this specific location, there's been an accident," says Grant.

If the program does identify a pattern, emergency crews can then respond to try to prevent any future crashes, taking a proactive approach instead of a reactive approach.

"People tend to slow down when there's a police vehicle present, so we might proactively decide that next Friday we'll put a police vehicle there and see what happens," says Grant.

Nevada transportation leaders recently used the same program to reduce crashes by 17% on a stretch of the 15, between Russel and Charleston.

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This is a 7 month pilot program, and the city is testing out the technology at two major intersections: Eastern and St. Rose Parkway, and Eastern and Horizon Ridge Parkway.