On Friday, the U.S. Department of Transportation released its plan to guide the implementation of vehicle-to-everything technologies across the country.
The plan, Saving Lives with Connectivity: A Plan to Accelerate V2X Deployment, will also support the USDOT’s commitment to pursue a comprehensive approach to reduce the number of roadway fatalities, officials said. Initially released in draft form last year in October, the plan is focused on road safety, mobility, and efficiency through technology that enables vehicles and wireless devices to communicate with each other and with roadside infrastructure. Officials said V2X technology can enable safer, more secure and more efficient transportation system while maintaining privacy and consumer protection will contribute to the Safety System Approach adopted by the USDOT’s National Roadway Safety Strategy.
“The Department has reached a key milestone today in laying out a national plan for the transportation industry that has the power to save lives and transform the way we travel,” U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said. “The Department recognizes the potential safety benefits of V2X, and this plan will move us closer to nationwide adoption of this technology.”
At the same time, the National Transportation Safety Board said it advocated the new plan, saying V2X is a technology it has been behind since 1995. The NTSB said the technology plan was a would help save lives. It currently has 10 recommendations related to V2X technologies and would be reviewing the DOT plan to see if it satisfies any of them.
“This plan is a vital first step towards realizing the full lifesaving potential of this technology, which we’ve supported for decades,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said Friday. “V2X can reverse the crisis on our roads and fundamentally transform our nation’s transportation landscape—that’s a future worth fighting for.”
Along with the National Plan, the Federal Highway Administration recently announced nearly $60 million in grants to three entities that will promote the deployment of V2X technologies, while ensuring connected technologies communicate securely and without harmful interference across a variety of devices and platforms.
“The Plan was drafted and advanced with collaboration across public and private partnerships. It provides stakeholders with vital information to enable a safe, efficient, and sustainable transportation system through the national, widespread deployment of interoperable V2X technologies. The Plan will accelerate investment, research, and deployment in V2X “market certainty,” Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology and Chief Scientist Dr. Robert C. Hampshire said.