DOTSAE

DOTSAE stands for Data-Oriented Transportation Safety and Analytics Ecosystem. It is a conceptual framework proposed to enhance transportation safety analytics by enabling standardized data sharing, interoperable tools, and coordinated governance across government agencies, research institutions, and industry partners.

It envisions common data standards for traffic incidents, vehicle telemetry, infrastructure conditions, and environmental factors, together with metadata schemas, privacy controls, and data stewardship policies. The framework emphasizes open interfaces, reusable analytics components, and scalable cloud-based infrastructure to support cross-domain analysis.

DOTSAE is not a single organization or mandated program. Rather, it describes a set of collaborative efforts and pilot projects where participants align on data definitions, access rules, and evaluation metrics to support safety improvements, from crash risk modeling to proactive maintenance planning.

Potential applications include risk forecasting, near-miss and exposure analysis, urban and corridor safety planning, and evaluation of countermeasures. By pooling data from multiple jurisdictions and datasets, DOTSAE aims to increase statistical power and enable more rapid learning cycles.

Challenges facing realising DOTSAE include data governance and privacy concerns, legal constraints on data sharing, resource requirements for data curation and integration, and the need for sustained collaboration across agencies with different priorities. Critics caution that achieving true interoperability is complex and may require phased implementation and governance agreements.