8 t INTERSECT17, the subject of “Big (Traffic) Data” was one of the most popular topics spread among both panel and solo presentations. Each of the esteemed presenters did their best to create clarity out of a myriad of data chaos. There are more than 400 kinds of “traffic signal performance measures” already defined. When one ponders the unbelievable volume and type of traffic data that can be collected versus what data should be collected then our respective stress levels will hopefully be reduced as it relates to data collection and reporting. With the World Economic Forum estimating that the global economic and environmental cost of traffic jams is $1.4 trillion annually, traffic engineers around the world struggle daily with how to enhance traffic throughput at signalized intersections in order to optimize traffic signal timing and traffic flow. “Traffic data collection alone will not enhance real-time traffic management. It is the interpretation and management of big data that is the challenge. We can have a mountain of data, but unless we can convert it into useful information, there is no value,” said Shelley Row, former Director, ITS Joint Program Office, U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). Traffic data is useless without both insight and analytics. When developing a traffic data collection program for your traffic management agency, it is important that all of the ITS stakeholders are included in the overall traffic data and performance measures collection effort. It is often overlooked that many ITS stakeholders have common needs and desires for traffic data collection, such that sensor and detector data can be shared across multiple agency divisions and multiple jurisdictions. The needs of public transit agencies are often overlooked because their funding comes from different sources; however, there are shared safety considerations within the intersection that should be carefully considered. The National Electrical Manufactures Association (NEMA) Performance Measures Technical Committee is diligently developing the NEMA TS-9 standard that will better define the performance measures requested by the U.S. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and state DOTs. Our goal is to provide simple technology-agnostic guidance as to what is the correct traffic data set that will provide the very best information to optimize traffic signal timing, and assist in proactively maintaining signalized intersections in a “good state of repair.” There are approximately 1.3 million roadway fatalities worldwide each year with an additional 30-50 million people seriously injured annually in crashes. Since1960, more than 50 million people have died on our roadways worldwide, 2.5 million being in the United States alone. With these staggering statistics in mind, we must collect, analyze and better interpret traffic data to make good decisions about traffic signal timing optimization. The goal of reducing delays, accidents and incidents all work together to achieve our ultimate goal of saving lives, and reducing injury-related traffic accidents. The life you save may be your family member, so the sense of urgency is time critical. n BIG (TRAFFIC) DATA AND YOU DR. BILL SOWELL, VICE PRESIDENT-BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, EBERLE DESIGN, INC. ON HOW TO SEE THE FOREST FOR THE TREES A “WHEN DEVELOPING A TRAFFIC DATA COLLECTION PROGRAM FOR YOUR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT AGENCY, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT ALL OF THE ITS STAKEHOLDERS ARE INCLUDED IN THE OVERALL TRAFFIC DATA AND PERFORMANCE MEASURES COLLECTION EFFORT.” DR. BILL SOWELL, Vice President-Business Development, Eberle Design, Inc., has been involved with ITS and the development of ITS standards and technology for more than 30 years. He played a key role in the early design and development of the 1,600 intersection Saudi ATVAM project, the Mohd. Bin Zayed City Project in Abu Dhabi, and the adoption of the NTCIP systems open communications protocol in Chile, Brazil, China and Saudi Arabia. He chairs the NEMA 3TS “Performance Measures Technical Committee.”