MYNORTHWEST NEWS

WSP uses cellphone data to predict and prevent dangerous drivers

Jun 20, 2025, 5:05 AM | Updated: 11:52 am

Washington drivers phone data...

Photo of a Washington State Patrol Trooper during a traffic stop. (Photo courtesy of Washington State Patrol)

(Photo courtesy of Washington State Patrol)

The Washington State Patrol (WSP) has implemented a new tool that utilizes drivers’ phone data to limit the rate and frequency of speeding on the state’s roadways and thoroughfares.

Cellphone data collected in 2023 from more than 1 million cellphone users in Washington helped the state identify habits of dangerous drivers, according to KING 5.

Dangerous WA drivers’ cellphone data

Shelley Baldwin, Director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC), said that the WTSC used state funding to purchase telematic data, gathered by Michelin Mobility Intelligence, according to KING 5.

“This is so exciting to be using data that we haven’t had access to before,” Baldwin told KING 5. “This is predictive as opposed to reflective.”

The data revealed when and where drivers had sped, used their brakes, talked on the phone, and texted while on Washington roadways.

WSP will utilize the newly acquired data to search for speeders in four Washington locations over the next six weeks:

  • I-5 from Joint Base Lewis-McChord to Fife
  • Fife to Auburn on I-5
  • North and South of Everett on I-5
  • 14-mile stretch of Interstate 90, East and West of downtown Spokane

“We want drivers to slow down, pay attention to the road, and never drive impaired,” WSP Chief John Batiste told KING 5. “But most importantly, we want drivers to arrive safely at their destination each and every time they take to the roadway.”

Follow Jason Sutich on X. Send news tips here.

MyNorthwest News

missing...

MyNorthwest Staff

Mother and baby missing for a week from Okanogan County

A mother and her baby have been missing for a week from Okanogan County.

14 hours ago

tukwila...

KIRO 7 News Staff

Tukwila educators, district reach tentative contract agreement

Educators have reached a tentative agreement with the Tukwila School District on a new contract.

14 hours ago

immigrant students...

KIRO Newsradio staff

WA among 4 states being sued by Trump admin over tuition for immigrant students

Washington is among four states being sued by the Trump administration over in-state college tuition for immigrant students.

14 hours ago

parkland...

MyNorthwest Staff

Area of Parkland being told to evacuate for large fire

An area of Parkland is being told to evacuate now due to a large fire.

16 hours ago

windstorm...

Ted Buehner

11 years after the strongest summer windstorm on record, a new system heads for western WA

On Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015, the strongest summer windstorm on record swept through western Washington.

16 hours ago

Seattle drug trafficking...

MyNorthwest Staff

5 men indicted for laundering $7.4M stolen from elderly victims through tech support scams in WA

5 men have been indicted for their connections with a nationwide fraud scheme that took funds from elderly victims and sent the money to foreign bank account.

16 hours ago

WSP uses cellphone data to predict and prevent dangerous drivers