Software to Detect the Cause of Road Accidents

This really interesting insert regarding “new software designed to detect the causes of road accidents” featured on euronews a few days back.  This is what the write-up on their website had to say about it:

At the Innovation Days Exhibition in Lisbon, developers were showing off new software designed to detect the causes of road accidents. The system uses photos taken at the scene of an accident, official reports and analysis of the road conditions to make a 3D computer recreation of the crash. The aim is to avoid wrangling over what – or who -might have caused any given accident.

My only question:  When can we (as a society) have it?  I believe that every incident that results in substantial damage, injury or death on the roads should be formally investigated and blame (yes, good old-fashioned blame) apportioned.  This verdict should then be the basis for settling insurance and civil claims and deciding on criminal charges (if necessary).

But just to go back a step, why have we gone back to referring to these vehicle collisions or incidents as “accidents”.  To my mind, the term “accident” implies some form of value judgment, a determination that no one is to blame.  How is it possible to make that determination before the incident has even been investigated?

I don’t see this as the ultimate solution, by the way.  In my utopia, we would travel on driverless computerised public transport systems, with only bicycles, horses and prams having someone “behind the wheel”.

Until then, though, let’s get away from the culture that says nobody (or everybody) is to blame when lives are lost on the road.

Security systems at Innovation Days - Security : sci-tech, hi-tech | euronews