Washington — The U.S. Department of Transportation on Friday announced an ambitious plan to deploy new, connected safety technologies in cars and on roads across the country by 2036.
The plan promises to use vehicle-to-everything, or “V2X,” technology, an umbrella term for the real-time transfer of data between vehicles, stationary infrastructure, personal smart devices and more. This data can be used to create safety alerts for drivers, enable advanced vehicle safety features that prevent crashes and improve traffic flow.
“I am not aware of a more significant use of technology than V2X that can save lives and improve people’s lives right now,” said Shailen Bhatt, head of the Federal Highway Administration, during an event at the U.S. Department of Transportation headquarters in Washington.
Widespread adoption of V2X — which already has limited use in some vehicles and on roads in the U.S. and elsewhere — has been a goal of safety advocates for years. It will require significant funding and coordination among automakers, equipment manufacturers and public transit agencies at all levels of government, but officials and stakeholders said it’s an effort worth pursuing to reduce the tens of thousands of traffic deaths across the country each year.
“Equipping the existing infrastructure will require tens of millions of dollars of investment,” Bhatt said, acknowledging that it would be difficult to roll out V2X across the board beyond pilot programs in select states or cities. “But I would also say we spend tens of billions every year on our transportation system.”
“I would just say that nothing in this world worth doing is easy,” he added. “But we are not here to do easy things. We are here to do difficult things, and those are the things we should be fighting for.”
John Bozzella, chairman of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, called the announcement an important milestone. The alliance is a trade group that represents all major U.S. automakers except Tesla Inc. and is the industry’s primary voice in government affairs.
“This deployment plan is a big deal,” said Bozzella. “I am more optimistic than I have been in a long time about our collective ability to realize this life-saving potential of V2X technology in the United States.”
The plan is divided into three phases.
In the first phase, which runs from 2024 to 2028, V2X technology will be deployed on 20 percent of the national highway system. In addition, V2X technology will be added to a quarter of all intersections in the country’s 75 largest metropolitan areas. In addition, at least two major automakers will be required to install equipment in their vehicles that communicate on the 5.895 to 5.925 GHz frequency reserved for V2X transmissions.
The second phase, from 2029 to 2031, will expand deployment to 40% of highways and half of intersections in major metropolitan areas. The agency also wants at least five consumer vehicle models to include V2X devices.
The final phase, from 2032 to 2036, includes the rollout of V2X on all highways and 85% of intersections in major cities, as well as vehicle commitments from six automakers.
“There is still a lot of work to be done,” Bozzella said. He pointed in particular to the need for final technical rules from the Federal Communications Commission to enable V2X, but again praised federal officials for their work so far.
“Thank you to the Department of Transportation for this important plan and for your leadership,” he said. “This is important.”
@GrantSchwab
