Skip to main content

US to field trial connected vehicle technology

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced that the University of Michigan will conduct a road safety field trial in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which will include the installation of wireless devices in up to 3,000 vehicles in one location, to evaluate the effectiveness of connected vehicle technology to prevent crashes.
April 17, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSSThe 324 US Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced that the University of Michigan will conduct a road safety field trial in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which will include the installation of wireless devices in up to 3,000 vehicles in one location, to evaluate the effectiveness of connected vehicle technology to prevent crashes.

During the pilot, to be carried out on the streets and highways of Ann Arbor from August, 2012 to August, 2013, drivers will be alerted to impending dangers in real-time so they can take action to avoid crashes. Data will be collected from the vehicles in order to understand how different types of motorists respond to safety messages in the real world.

"This test will be an important step towards the US Department of Transportation's top priority – a safer transportation system," said Peter Appel, administrator of the 321 Research and Innovative Technology Administration. "Technology is an investment in the future and this pilot deployment of vehicles that 'see' and 'talk' with one another with the help of wireless communication will allow us to learn how drivers use electronic alerts to avoid crashes in a real-world environment."

The safety pilot is the second part of a two-part connected vehicle research initiative. The first part is the Safety Pilot Driver Acceptance Clinics, which began on this month. The driver clinics are the first step in identifying how motorists respond to innovative wireless devices for safety. Participants in the six driver acceptance clinics will test cars equipped with connected vehicle devices in a controlled environment where researchers can observe the drivers' responses to the technology.

To continue the data collection under real-world conditions, the Ann Arbor safety pilot will allow drivers using cars, trucks, and transit vehicles fitted with wireless devices to carry out their normal routines while their vehicles sense the presence of other equipped vehicles nearby.

Related Content

  • US updates ITS strategy for Connected Vehicle deployment
    March 16, 2015
    Jon Masters looks at the USDOT’s new ITS Strategic Plan for the next five years. Emphasis and direction for the next five years of Government led ITS research in the United States has been framed within a new ITS Strategic Plan. The US Department for Transportation’s (USDOT) ITS Joint Program Office (JPO) published the report at the tail end of 2014 after concluding a two-year ITS industry consultation process. The Plan identifies a vision to transform the way society moves and the ITS JPO’s aim of advancin
  • New York’s Midtown in Motion traffic management system wins ITS America award
    June 6, 2012
    ITS America has recognised the New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DoT) for Midtown in Motion, the sophisticated traffic management system launched last July that uses ITS to ease traffic congestion, improve traffic flow, and reduce greenhouse emissions and air pollution on the city’s most congested streets. Coinciding with the award, NYC DoT announced that it is expanding the system, which currently covers 110-square blocks, to cover 270-square blocks in the city’s most heavily congested neighb
  • USDoT awards $60m funding for ADS systems testing
    September 20, 2019
    The US Department of Transportation (DoT) is to provide nearly $60 million in funding for eight projects to test the safe integration of autonomous driving systems (ADS). US secretary of transportation Elaine Chao says: “The Department is awarding $60 million in grant funding to test the safe integration of automated vehicles into America’s transportation system while ensuring that legitimate concerns about safety, security, and privacy are addressed.” The USDoT is delivering the funding via the Autom
  • USDoT embraces Vision Zero
    January 31, 2022
    'We cannot tolerate the continuing crisis of roadway deaths,' says transport sec Pete Buttigieg