System and method for vehicle route planning

1 . A system for vehicle route planning, comprising:

a database configured to electronically store crime data;

a route planning unit configured to generate a route for a vehicle; and

a processing device in communication with the database and the route planning unit, wherein the processing device is configured to execute instructions stored in a memory to perform operations comprising:

receiving as input at the route planning unit a starting location for the vehicle and an ending location for the vehicle;

analyzing the crime data to determine instances of crime occurring between the starting location and the ending location;

generating a planned route for the vehicle from the starting location to the ending location based on the analyzed crime data;

identifying, along the planned route, one or more sections having a crime rate value above a predetermined threshold value; and

automatically controlling one or more vehicle operations during travel of the vehicle through the one or more identified sections based on the one or more sections having the crime rate value above the predetermined threshold value.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the crime data includes historical theft crime data associated with vehicles and/or cargo transported by the vehicles.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the operations comprise generating a crime rate value for the planned route based on the instances of crime occurring along the planned route.

4 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the crime rate value is a weighted value based on a comparison of the instances of crime occurring along the planned route versus instances of crime occurring along other possible routes from the starting location to the ending location.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the operations comprise receiving as input at a user interface a route risk value.

6 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the user interface includes a sliding scale selection for the route risk value, and wherein sliding of the sliding scale selection of the user interface to change the route risk value generates in real-time a new planned route relative to the planned route.

7 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the route risk value is a numerical value between 0 and 10.

8 . The system of claim 5 , wherein generating the planned route comprises weighing the crime data along one or more possible routes between the starting location and the ending location.

9 . The system of claim 8 , wherein the operations comprise assigning a generated route risk value for each of the one or more possible routes.

10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the operations comprise narrowing the one or more possible routes based on whether the generated route risk value for the respective one or more possible routes is equal to or greater than the selected route risk value.

11 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the operations comprise receiving as input at a user interface a time selection for a maximum length of travel from the starting location to the ending location, and generating the planned route based on the time selection.

12 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the operations comprise receiving as input at a user interface a fuel consumption selection for an amount of fuel used for travel of the vehicle from the starting location to the ending location, and generating the planned route based on the fuel consumption selection.

13 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the operations comprise receiving as input at a user interface an infrastructure existence selection between the starting location and the ending location, and generating the planned route based on the infrastructure existence selection.

14 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the operations comprise receiving as input at a user interface a freight value selection associated with the vehicle, and generating the planned route based on the freight value selection.

15 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the operations comprise generating an alert via a user interface regarding an elevated crime instance as the vehicle travels along the planned route.

16 . A computer-implemented method for vehicle route planning, comprising:

electronically storing crime data in a database; and

executing instructions stored in a memory with a processing device in communication with the one or more sensors to perform operations comprising:

receiving as input at a route planning unit a starting location for the vehicle and an ending location for the vehicle;

analyzing the crime data to determine instances of crime occurring between the starting location and the ending location;

generating a planned route for the vehicle from the starting location to the ending location based on the analyzed crime data;

identifying, along the planned route, one or more sections having a crime rate value above a predetermined threshold value; and

automatically controlling one or more vehicle operations during travel of the vehicle through the one or more identified sections based on the one or more sections having the crime rate value above the predetermined threshold value.

17 . The system of claim 1 , wherein automatically controlling one or more vehicle operations of the vehicle during travel of the vehicle through the one or more identified sections includes automatically locking doors of the vehicle.

18 . The system of claim 1 , wherein automatically controlling one or more vehicle operations of the vehicle during travel of the vehicle through the one or more identified sections includes automatically adjusting a speed of the vehicle to avoid instances of a full stop.

19 . The system of claim 1 , wherein automatically controlling one or more vehicle operations of the vehicle during travel of the vehicle through the one or more identified sections includes automatically maintaining a greater distance from surrounding vehicles for flexibility in reaction timing and avoidance.

20 . The system of claim 1 , wherein automatically controlling one or more vehicle operations of the vehicle during travel of the vehicle through the one or more identified sections includes automatically increasing a speed of the vehicle for quicker passage of the vehicle through the one or more identified sections.