Keep up with the innovative tech transforming business
Tech Brew keeps business leaders up-to-date on the latest innovations, automation advances, policy shifts, and more, so they can make informed decisions about tech.
US roadways could get a lot smarter in the coming years, if the Department of Transportation gets its way.
Last week, the DOT released a plan to implement vehicle-to-everything, or V2X, technologies nationwide. The strategy is part of the department’s efforts to reduce traffic injuries and fatalities.
This is an urgent mission: Some 40,000 people die in traffic crashes in the US each year, and the numbers have been trending upward in recent years.
Enter V2X, a technology that enables vehicles, wireless devices, and infrastructure to communicate with each other over a wireless network. Using V2X, vehicles could, for example, get alerts about inclement weather conditions, another vehicle veering outside its lane, or a crash ahead.
Where rubber meets the road: It would also require automakers to continue investing in the connected and automated vehicle tech that the industry sees as a promising new revenue source.
In a statement, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the tech “has the power to save lives and transform the way we travel,” and said DOT’s plan “will move us closer to nationwide adoption of this technology.”
The roadmap envisions deploying V2X on 20% of national highways by 2028. Between 2029 and 2031, DOT would like to see the tech implemented across 50% of highways and installed at 40% of intersections.
- By 2036, the department wants V2X to be “fully deployed” on national highways and for at least 50 “interoperable, cybersecure deployments” to be up and running, according to a summary of the plan.
- DOT envisions involvement from numerous stakeholders, including automakers, the FCC, local governments, and others.
Before the plan’s release, the Federal Highway Administration announced some $60 million in grants to support deployment of V2X technologies by recipients in Utah, Texas, and Arizona. Still, nationwide V2X deployment is sure to require many more resources—and past implementation proposals have faltered.
There are limited deployments of V2X already, including a pilot project on a three-mile stretch of highway in Michigan.
Traffic safety advocates have long pushed for V2X, which, according to one government estimate, could prevent roughly 1,300 traffic fatalities each year. The auto industry also has expressed support for a nationwide V2X strategy.
The National Transportation Safety Board, which has advocated for V2X implementation for decades, is reviewing USDOT’s plan.
“This plan is a vital first step toward realizing the full life-saving potential of this technology, which we’ve supported for decades,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said. “V2X can reverse the crisis on our roads and fundamentally transform our nation’s transportation landscape.”
link