Each vehicle is manned by volunteers and the data they collect contributes an important component of the club’s advocacy work.

Last summer the volunteers examined the quality of 920,000km of the Swedish road network using cheap, precise and userfriendly technology. Each of the 12 cars provided was equipped with a smartphone and the innovative Roadroid-app, which uses the smartphone’s built-in vibration sensor to measure road texture. The phone’s GPS then connects the data to the national road database and the data is uploaded to a map.

The collated data was recently presented in a paper detailing key findings, including the fact that every county above Dalävlen, a river in mid-south Sweden, has poorer roads than counties south of the river.

Another finding made a clear connection between road deaths and poor road quality. In a country such as Sweden, where there are often long distances between towns, good road standards are necessary to maintain business competitiveness, while, for motorists, good roads reduce the risk of expensive repairs to cars. The study resulted in high media interest and proved to be an effective way of putting road standards on the media agenda.

The paper: http://bit.ly/1m9q76M

The app: www.roadroid.com

CONTACT: erik.kjellin@motormannen.se