The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) recently released a plan to accelerate the use of vehicles that can connect with everything around them, including other vehicles, pedestrians and infrastructure.
Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology is a tool that could reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on the country’s roads, the plan says.
A short-term goal of the plan is to have V2X deployed on 20 percent of the nation’s highway system within the next four years, rising to 50 percent between 2029 and 2031 and 100 percent between 2032 and 2036.
The plan also outlines short-term, medium-term and long-term goals for the advancement of V2X by stakeholders such as cities, OEMs, technology developers and government agencies.
The National V2X Development Plan states: “The deployment of improved wireless connectivity will enable a safer and more efficient transportation system while preserving privacy and consumer protection.”
A vehicle equipped with V2X could receive important information about the location and actions of vehicles and other road users, as well as messages about traffic conditions, the plan says. This could include, for example, the status of device signals and the prevailing road conditions.
Data from a 2017 report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that vehicle-to-vehicle safety applications with dedicated short-range communication, intersection assistance and left-turn assistance could prevent 439,000 to 615,000 crashes, or about 13 to 18 percent of all reported crashes, and save 987 to 1,366 lives annually, the plan says.
A Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority Connected Vehicle Pilot Project also estimates that 21 potential pedestrian accidents were prevented by V2X and pedestrian collision warning applications.
The U.S. Department of Transportation began work on its plan in 2022, and the draft is expected to be published in 2023, the plan says.
The federal agency has taken numerous steps to promote the use of V2X, including assisting the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in accelerating the repeal of certain Rules that enable the immediate use of V2X technologyThe U.S. Department of Transportation also says it has provided resources to V2X developers, met with stakeholders such as state and local agencies and automotive associations, and invested $61.5 million in V2X research and development.
“This document lays out a plan to accelerate the adoption of V2X,” the plan states. “The plan sets out the Department of Transportation’s vision, ambitious goals and milestones and calls stakeholders to action, including government at all levels, public entities and the private sector. The ambitious goals and targets do not imply a statutory/regulatory mandate or specific federal funding. Instead, the plan provides a path that demonstrates federal leadership and enables government and industry to work together toward the same goals.”
DOT points out that achieving the goals set out in the plan will require “commitment and investment” from the V2X community.
“Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) will decide the extent to which V2X devices – such as onboard units – will be fitted to new vehicles,” the plan states. “OEMs may not all have a common view on the economics of investing in V2X technologies, but they can work with other members of the private sector and public bodies that provide V2X infrastructure. In the meantime, equipment manufacturers will likely seek to ensure that roadside units and onboard units are developed according to standards to ensure interoperability, and have them tested and certified so that operators (OEMs and infrastructure operators) have certainty. successfully forwarded.”
Cybersecurity and privacy are critical to a successful V2X deployment, it says. An interoperable deployment is essential. This would enable vehicles and devices to communicate anywhere, efficiently and securely while preserving privacy, using multiple wireless communication technologies, wireless messages and open data formats and standards.
The plan also points out that the radio spectrum is limited.
“Safety-critical low-latency applications will use the 30 megahertz portion (5.895-5.925 GHz) of the 5.9 GHz band reserved by FCC rules, while other applications will need to use other communications approaches, including solutions using other spectrum,” the plan states. “Various approaches based on cellular communications have been used, but these may not be fully interoperable across multiple vendor ecosystems.”
The U.S. Department of Transportation will continue to coordinate resources across agencies and offices to support the deployment of V2X technologies, including funding for technologies, opportunities to engage stakeholders, and providing building sites for development.
“To successfully accelerate the deployment of this technology, save lives, and achieve national goals, the United States must develop the workforce and skills critical to scaling up these systems,” the plan says. “Expanding the knowledge and skills of professional staff within public agencies is critical. One way to do this would be to assess internal organizational capacity, gaps, and needs to plan a deployment tailored to their community.”
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