The City of Windsor is the first in Canada to team up with Ford Smart Mobility Canada to access the automaker's Safety Insights platform.
The goal of the new partnership is to create safer roads through data-driven insights and decisions.
The pilot project will allow Ford Mobility to track selective data from connected Ford vehicles, with the car owner's permission.
Cal Coplai with Ford Mobility says the information isn't shared with the City of Windsor in real time.
"We have a process for accessing the underlying data safely, stripping it of any information that's personal and then the city ultimately can access the safety insights platform."
Coplai says the car's computer system tracks certain things that the City of Windsor can use to create safer roads.
"If your ABS is activated or your Ford collision warning system is triggered or your lane departure warning system is triggered, all these new systems that are on the vehicles to help the vehicles operate better, those can generate data."
Jeff Hagan, Transportation Planner with the City of Windsor, says they're wanting to use the data learn more about specific locations where they have safety concerns.
"And that really informs our decisions about safety counter measures to put out, whether it means a change in the signal timing at an intersection to reduce collisions or it could mean a physical change to the roadway or providing information to the police about where enforcement might be better."
According to Ford officials, the city has tens of thousands of connected Ford vehicles on our roadways that could partake in the project, providing a good snapshot into emerging areas of concern around the city.
Other cities also on board with the pilot are Detroit and Ann Arbor, MI, and Austin, TX.
The one-year pilot program will be funded through Windsor-Essex Economic Development's FedDev grant for Automobility Ecosystem building, at a cost of $30,000.