How your phone could keeps roads safer [Video]

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — There’s a problem on Arizona’s roads. “We do have, unfortunately, too many people who get hurt on the roadway,” said Marisa Walker, the executive director of the Institute for Automated Mobility at the Arizona Commerce Authority. The number of fatal crashes is also going up.

According to the most recent published data, there were 1,178 fatal crashes in Arizona, resulting in the deaths of 1,294 in 2022. In the same year, more than 52,000 people were injured in crashes.

The solution could be closer than many drivers realize. The Arizona Commerce Authority received more than $1.7 million through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s SMART Grant program, which stands for Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation. The money will be used to work on the ACA’s ‘vehicle to everything’ technology.

“There are only 855 connected vehicles on the roadway right now, but millions and millions of people have cell phones and …