Recently the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and USDOT Secretary Anthony Foxx announced they will require automobile manufacturers to include devices in all newly manufactured light vehicles allowing the vehicles to communicate with each other. While this came as an announcement of “new” technology, the planning and testing has gone on for many years. Enclosed are links to a series of archived webinars on the technology and some of its applications. Emergency responders can look forward to many benefits from this technology being installed in vehicles and the installation of roadside devices allowing the vehicles to communicate to the infrastructure. Many of the things discussed in these webinars are not just concepts but proven technologies supported by many different test beds and test deployments. It is estimated this technology will reduce the number of unimpaired driver accidents by 80%.
Just one type of the incidents that will be greatly reduced is the multi-vehicle crashes on our highways when driving in reduced visibility. It won’t necessarily force those driving too fast to slow down, but it will warn them of stopped traffic ahead before they can even begin to see it and that WILL save lives and protect those having to respond to those incidents.
William (Bill) Brownlow, Telecommunications Manager, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)