The use of fifth generation networks (5g) to improve road safety in south africa: a comparative study

Abstract

The 4th Industrial Revolution triggers the concept of ‘The Internet of Things’ (IoT). IoT refers to the interconnectedness, making the connectiveness of all of these myriads of devices possible. In the transport domain, this inclusive connectivity refers to a range of infrastructure, vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communication and so forth. In urban areas, the physical transport infrastructure can now be connected to digital technology, giving rise to the term ‘Smart Transport Infrastructure’. However, this excitement is about data sharing, how fast it can be shared, along with a low latency network, which is what industry is looking for. The fifth generation of networks (5G) seems to be the answer. Fatal crashes are still a problem in South Africa, as more than 10 000 of these occurred in 2018 and more than 12 000 people died due to these crashes. From the fatal crashes that occurred in 2018, about 89 % were due to human factors. Human factors have contributed more than 75 % of fatal crashes since 2014, with the highest being 91 % in 2017. Humans make mistakes and as such it is time to trust technology and take advantage of the 5G innovations. This paper compares different cases and reports the findings of the first phase (qualitative research) of a three-year project,