Skip to main content

USDoT revamps Safety Band info

Website update is latest salvo in fight for exclusivity of 5.9GHz for transport
By Adam Hill September 29, 2020 Read time: 1 min
USDoT highlights 5.9GHz wireless spectrum's role in improving road safety (© RightFramePhotoVideo | Dreamstime.com)

The US Department of Transportation has updated its Safety Band website with new graphics highlighting the importance of the 5.9GHz wireless spectrum for improving road safety across the country. 

USDoT points out that the Safety Band - set up by the Federal Communications Commission in 1999 - is host to technologies which "generate real-time alerts to prevent crashes, manage traffic flow, warn drivers about hazardous weather conditions, and adjust signals to give emergency vehicles priority in congested traffic".

They have the potential to improve road safety: "That is why federal, state, and local governments have invested more than $2 billion in deploying them," USDoT says.

A new interactive map shows operational and planned locations across the US deploying Vehicle to Everything (V2X) communications technologies. 

There is also a state-by-state index which shows crash fatalities and related economic costs that USDoT says could be mitigated through deployment of technology utilising the Safety Band. 
 

Related Content

  • APTA calls for $23.8bn from Congress
    May 20, 2020
    Money is needed for public transit – on top of $25bn 'lifesaver' already pledged
  • Bespoke ITS is helping to reduced collisions on America’s rural roads
    October 22, 2014
    David Crawford cherrypicks conference and award highlights Almost 30% of all US citizens live in rural areas or very small communities, and 34 of the 50 states exceed this level in their own populations, with the proportions rising as high as 85%. And although rural routes carry only 35% of all traffic, the accidents that occur on them account for some 54% of all US road traffic accident deaths.
  • Mixed views on reintroduction of US Wi-Fi Innovation Act
    February 11, 2015
    US Senators Marco Rubio and Cory Booker have reintroduced S. 424, the Wi-Fi Innovation Act, legislation to expand unlicensed spectrum use by requiring the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to test the feasibility of opening the upper 5 GHz band to unlicensed use. At a time when demand for spectrum is drastically increasing, the legislation aims to provide more of this valuable resource to the public to bolster innovation, spur economic development, and increase connectivity. According to Rubio,
  • FCC 5.9 GHz waiver opens road to C-V2X deployment in US
    April 25, 2023
    Federal Communications Commission decision clears major road safety obstacle