Innovation in Road Safety: How Games Can Reduce Collisions

In 2022, the economic cost of motor vehicle collisions in Canada was $25 billion, just a fraction of the broader toll that includes fatalities, serious injuries, and long-term social impacts. Bill Bland, CEO of Medidas, a company based in St Albert, Alberta, is working to change that reality.

Since 2020, the company has partnered with Mitacs to bring much-needed R&D talent onboard. Students from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), for example, are working with Medidas to build robust business intelligence dashboards that were offered to corporate partners in exchange for advertising spends and user-earned rewards.

In an interview with Mitacs, Bill shares how Medidas’ Safe Roads Challenge app redefines how we learn, practice, and promote safe driving.

Mitacs: Your background includes work in Alzheimer’s research and public health. What sparked the shift toward road safety and driver behaviour, and how did that journey lead to the creation of Medidas?

Bill Bland: Back in my Alzheimer’s research days, our team was tasked with developing a cognitive assessment tool to determine if drivers were too impaired to drive. Continuing a driving-focused career in 2014, I transitioned from safe retirement driving to improving driver behaviour which ultimately led to the creation of Medidas. Our goal is to build technology for all types of drivers, focusing on being proactive rather than reactive.

Mitacs: Medidas has built a broad network of partners — from driving educators to community organizations and corporate sponsors. How have these collaborations supported Medidas’ mission? And in the case of your work with Mitacs, what roles did the interns play?

BB: One of Medidas’ pillars is “win-win,” and we apply this principle to all driver safety stakeholders in our solutions. We have a strong community spirit and want everyone involved in driver safety. Anyone who can help the mission of saving lives is welcome to drop in. I think these collaborations have made us better known within the community.

When we first partnered with Mitacs back in 2020, Mitacs helped us employ several interns, which allowed us to build dashboards for our mobile app called TrypScore, now rebranded as Safe Roads Challenge. Two of those interns are now full-time employees who lead a couple of our teams.

Mitacs: The Safe Roads Challenge app was developed to engage young drivers. What inspired the app’s design and how does it stand apart from other driver safety tools on the market?

BB: The idea for the Safe Roads Challenge came to fruition because young drivers face a significantly higher risk on the road. We wanted to explore ways to engage learning beyond standard driver education. The goal was not just to help them pass driver’s education but to instill lifelong safe driving habits.

We looked into what resonated the most with young drivers: smartphones, gamification, competition, and a desire to make a positive impact. At the time, most existing apps were designed for insurance companies or fleet management, so we set out to create something driver-focused — a tool that helps drivers coach themselves and become more aware on the road. We are now proud to have users on the app between the ages of 14 and 89 years old.

Mitacs: While the human impact of collisions is front and centre, there’s also a broader financial cost to individuals, organizations, and the healthcare system. What do you think about Medidas’ role in helping to reduce that burden? What kind of outcomes are you seeing so far?

BB: The financial cost of collisions in North America is USD $1.37 trillion, but what we care about are the social costs. For us, it is about reducing those collisions so that it helps not just the financial aspects, but the productivity of society, corporations, and the individual.

Mitacs: Alberta is becoming known for its growing tech ecosystem. From your perspective, what’s the province doing right when it comes to fostering innovation—and how do programs like Mitacs fit into that landscape?

BB: Mitacs, the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) offerings, and other programs help to bring corporations and students together in a cost-effective way and that allows people to innovate and create technology that matters.

Mitacs: Looking ahead, what’s next for Medidas and how will you gauge success?

BB: We measure success through engagement with our technology and the resulting change in driver behaviour. We currently track the reduction in driver risk events in near real-time and correlate that to collision avoidance measures. By collaborating with the Traffic Injury Research Foundation and other traffic safety stakeholders to analyze and study the most effective measures, we can proactively make an impact. Also, by using machine learning, we are working to predict collisions before they happen, something that hasn’t been done before, most data typically reports on past collisions.

Coming up, we are excited to launch our “100 Safest Days” program, which runs from the May long weekend to Labour Day, focusing on the 100 deadliest days for teen drivers. This initiative, now in its second year, promotes young driver safety across North America. The campaign starts on May 23, offering a great opportunity for people to support young drivers and raise awareness, with exciting prizes for participants. Drivers can compete all year on various Safe Roads Challenges, we invite everyone to play!

Mitacs’s programs receive funding from multiple partners across Canada. We thank the Government of Canada, the Government of Alberta, the Government of British Columbia, Research Manitoba, the Government of New Brunswick, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Government of Nova Scotia, the Government of Ontario, Innovation PEI, the Government of Quebec, the Government of Saskatchewan, and the Government of Yukon for supporting us to empower Canadian innovation. 

Do you have a business challenge that could benefit from a research solution? If so, contact Mitacs today to discuss partnership opportunities: BD@mitacs.ca.