The US state of Virginia has radically changed which cars are eligible to use high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes.
October 28, 2019
Read time: 1 min
Most of the 16,000 vehicles which carry clean special fuel number plates can no longer use HOV lanes without three or more occupants (HOV 3+).
The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles says:
https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/vehicles/#cleanspecialfuel.asp plug-in and electric vehicles such as the Audi A3 e-tron and BMW i3 Sedan still qualify for the privilege.
Additionally, the 1747 Virginia Department of Transportation is to convert HOV lanes on Interstate 395 in northern Virginia to 8217 Express lanes in a move which will require all vehicles except motorcycles and buses to have a properly mounted E-ZPass or E-ZPass Flex. Vehicles bearing a clean special number plate can access the 8217 Express Lanes with a standard E-ZPass or can travel toll-free with an E-ZPass Flex if they meet the HOV 3+ requirement.
E-ZPass and E-ZPass Flex transponders are available at:
https://www.ezpassva.com and at https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/general/#mobileoperations.htmlDMV customer service centres. In addition, E-Z Pass On the Go may be obtained at DMV 2 Go mobile customer service centres.
The US Department of Transportation is seeking proposals for the establishment of a new certification environment based on wireless communications.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is requesting applications for assistance to result in the award of a new cooperative agreement to establish a future certification environment for connected vehicle devices and applications. The recipient shall establish a future certification environment for devices and applications that leverage wireless communica
The Government of Japan is to install 5G wireless communications base stations on traffic signals nationwide by 2025.
A report by The Japan News says the project is expected to reduce costs for telecommunications service providers.
As part of the project, traffic signals will be equipped with devices to measure the amount of traffic. The information sent from the stations to the vehicles is expected to support autonomous driving.
Japan is not the only company looking to harness the potential of 5G. In F
Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are at the heart of a new exhibition at the London Science Museum.
Driverless: Who is in control? opens on 12 June and looks at “how close we are to living in a world driven by thinking machines”.
Continuing until October 2020, the show examines themes familiar to ITS professionals wrestling with the legal, ethical and logistical issues around the introduction of driverless cars to public roads. The museum says it will focus on “how much of this seemingly futuristic technolog
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is inviting U.S. students to take part in an essay competition to share their visions for the future of transportation with a $1,000 (£720) prize and a trip to ITS America 2018, in Detroit, from the 4-7 June. It is aimed at providing students an opportunity to apply their knowledge in a thought-provoking manner. The topic, ‘How do you envision disruptive consumer technology will affect transportation systems over the next 10 years?’ is open to transportation, engineering
