'Increased awareness': New road safety technology launches in Oakland County

There’s a new technology that’s coming to Oakland County that is meant to help drivers become safer on the road.

It will give alerts well in advance when there are police, pedestrians and construction ahead of you.

“So, the technology is all about increased awareness,” said Erin Milligan, the CEO of P3Mobility. “The infrastructure is able to communicate information to the vehicle or the driver to give them alerts about things they might not be able to see up ahead.”

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The project rolled out its first human driving test on Tuesday in Michigan at Lawrence Technology University. It will soon be tested on the roads in Oakland County.

Milligan says she believes the new technology will help decrease car crashes.

“It’s almost $450 million, almost half a billion dollars each year that gets spent because of crashes that happen in Oakland County,” Milligan said.

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She added that the project is more than just business to her. After her son suffered from injuries following a car crash he was in, it became personal.

“He was T-boned by a red-light runner,” Milligan said. “He suffered such a bad concussion that he lost a year of university and still suffers debilitating headaches today.”

Southfield City Councilwoman Yolanda Haynes came by the university to see how the new technology works.

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Currently, the technology has been deployed in different states like Florida, New York and Utah, which Milligan says is leading the country.

Right now, Milligan says the cost for the new technology is still being measured, but she hopes that in the future, auto companies will install the equipment in new vehicles, so the cost will not be so heavy on the consumers.