Skip to main content

USDOT ‘accelerating on V2V technology’

The US Department of Transportation (US DOT) is accelerating its timetable on a proposed V2V rule that would require vehicle-to-vehicle equipment --technology that allows cars to ‘talk’ to one another-- in all new vehicles. V2V technology is a critical element of the connected automation that makes driverless cars as safe as possible. Writing in the USDOT Fastlane blog, Transportation Secretary Antony Foxx announced that he has directed the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) t
May 15, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
The 324 US Department of Transportation (US DOT) is accelerating its timetable on a proposed V2V rule that would require vehicle-to-vehicle equipment --technology that allows cars to ‘talk’ to one another-- in all new vehicles.  V2V technology is a critical element of the connected automation that makes driverless cars as safe as possible.

Writing in the USDOT Fastlane blog, Transportation Secretary Antony Foxx announced that he has directed the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) to accelerate the timetable for its proposal to require vehicle-to-vehicle communications technology in new vehicles. He has also asked NHTSA to begin work aimed at ensuring the regulatory framework encourages the deployment of innovations demonstrated to increase traffic safety.

Foxx has also committing to rapid testing that would ensure life-saving V2V transmissions aren’t obstructed by radio interference. He says the DOT is ready to complete this testing, which many in Congress, the FCC, and industry are eager to complete within 12 months of receiving production-ready devices to test.  Combined, these two commitments will accelerate the introduction of V2V and vehicle-to-infrastructure systems, which are key components of the connected, automated future.

Foxx says, “Together, these steps will support the current revolution in vehicle safety technologies while also making sure those technologies are safe.

“Nurturing V2V development is just part of our larger effort to move from a 20th century transportation model to a modern model that is safer, more efficient, more sustainable, and more economically productive.

“Innovations that make our roads and highways safer are essential to building that system. Today’s auto safety standards focus mostly on making millions of crashes each year more survivable. We want to move to a new era in which safety isn’t just about surviving crashes, but making sure that they never happen.”

Related Content

  • January 25, 2012
    Connected vehicle technology the solution to safety?
    A series of 'driver clinics' is under way across five states, as vehicle manufacturers and the US Government pin their hopes on connected vehicles becoming the next big advance in road safety. Pete Goldin reports. What would a car say if it could talk? Its first words might be: "Here I am". Many vehicles are communicating that very message to each other right now. Admittedly, this is in controlled environments of US Department of Transportation (USDoT) tests, but within the next few years 'connected vehicle
  • December 2, 2013
    Auto safety initiative seeks to reduce driver errors
    A push by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to use technology to reduce traffic fatalities aims to keep drunk drivers off the roads by using in-vehicle technology that immobilises their cars. They are pushing for systems that prevent drivers from starting their cars, help cars avoid collisions and prevent vehicles from starting if the occupants don’t wear seat belts. "Ninety per cent of all crashes have an element of human error," NHTSA administrator David Strickland said. "We really
  • August 21, 2014
    Ken Leonard talks to ITS International
    Ken Leonard, director of the USDOT’s ITS Joint Program office made time in his schedule during the Helsinki Congress to speak to ITS International. It has been 18 months since Ken Leonard took over as the director of the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program Office at the US Department of Transportation. With 30 years of technical experience behind him, to say he is enjoying the challenge would be to put it mildly: “It is incredibly exciting to be working in intelligent transportation systems, th
  • July 1, 2016
    NHTSA opens investigation into fatal Tesla crash
    The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened a preliminary investigation into a fatal crash involving a Tesla autonomous car in Florida. According to a Florida Highway Patrol report, the 40-year-old driver was killed when his 2015 Model S drove under the trailer of an 18-wheel truck. In a blog post on the crash, which happened in early May, Tesla said “the vehicle was on a divided highway with Autopilot engaged when a tractor trailer drove across the highway perpendicular to t