Australia and Michigan to develop safer roads and vehicle technology

The Australian government and the US state of Michigan have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop vehicle and road systems to help improve road safety. Michael McCormack, deputy prime minister and minister for infrastructure, transport and regional development, says the agreement is part of a strategy to position Australia for safer roads through automated and connected vehicles. “This is just one way the government is promoting safer vehicles on safer roads, including for our region
October 10, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
The Australian government and the US state of Michigan have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop vehicle and road systems to help improve road safety.


Michael McCormack, deputy prime minister and minister for infrastructure, transport and regional development, says the agreement is part of a strategy to position Australia for safer roads through automated and connected vehicles.

“This is just one way the government is promoting safer vehicles on safer roads, including for our regions where road crashes remain unacceptably high,” McCormack adds.

Rick Snyder, governor of Michigan, says the partnership will share research and knowledge in the development and deployment of intelligent vehicle transportation.

“Ensuring the safety of connected and autonomous vehicles is paramount, and that will require a truly global approach to testing and validating the technology, as well as addressing the regulatory and policy environment those efforts operate in,” Snyder adds.

The MoU supports links between the University of Melbourne’s AIMES (Australian Integrated Multimodal EcoSystem), an integrated technology programme with a live test bed on Melbourne’s streets and Michigan’s Mcity and 8742 American Center for Mobility offroad facilities.

Michigan state is a strong advocate of ITS through its technology innovation facilitator, PlanetM, which awarded its first mobility grant to transport software firm %$Linker: 2 Internal <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 4 35590 0 link-external Derq false /event-news/its-america/2018/news/derq-predicts-violations-and-saves-lives/ false false%> earlier this year. Derq’s V2X software applications are used at an intersection in Detroit, Michigan to predict and prevent accidents.

Areas for possible cooperation identified within the MoU include:

• Sharing scientific, technological, regulatory and policy data, co-hosting meetings, workshops and conferences between Michigan and Australia as well as other countries.
• sharing best practices in skilled trades and workforce development programmes.
• Developing new programmes to address emerging technology needs.
• The creation of a joint task force to provide advice on strengthening Michigan and Australian technology clusters and connecting key coordinating bodies.

Andrew Broad, assistant minister to Australia’s deputy prime minister, says Australian research institutions and industries can establish better links with international counterparts under the MoU.

Urban Traffic Control

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Dyson scraps EV project
    October 16, 2019
    British technology company Dyson has pulled out of a project to build electric vehicles (EVs), saying it is unable to make its car “commercially viable”. Chief executive Sir James Dyson said in a statement: “We have been through a serious process to find a buyer for the project which has, unfortunately, been unsuccessful so far.” The company, known primarily for its vacuum cleaners, says it will continue its £2.5 billion investment programme into new technology in two UK locations and in Singapore. It wil
    Read More
  • Groupe PSA trials car-sharing service in Washington, DC
    October 31, 2018
    French car manufacturer Groupe PSA says its ‘free-floating’ car-share service provides members in Washington, DC with access to 600 vehicles. The Free2Move service is available to drivers for a $10 membership fee and does not include late fees, per trip fees or insurance charges, the company adds. Members can use the Free2Move app to locate, book and open/lock the vehicles. This pilot coincides with Maven’s announcement to expand its peer-to-peer car-share service in Washington, DC – and other US
    Read More
  • Boeing autonomous air vehicle completes first flight in Virginia
    January 30, 2019
    Boeing has completed a test flight of its autonomous passenger air vehicle (PAV) prototype in the US. The electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft was developed through a collaboration between Boeing subsidiary companies Boeing NeXt and Aurora Flight Services. Boeing NeXt works with regulatory agencies and industry partners to help introduce new mobility modes and ensure autonomous and piloted air vehicles safely coexist. Steve Nordlund, vice president and general manager of Boeing NeXt, sa
    Read More
  • Improve efforts to develop alternative fuels infrastructure, say MEPs
    September 26, 2018
    The European Commission (EC) and member states need to ‘redouble efforts’ to boost the development of an alternative fuels infrastructure, say transport MEPs. The warning comes in a draft resolution from the Transport and Tourism Committee. Ismail Ertug, rapporteur, the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament, says: “Our initiative report urges the Commission to accelerate the revision of the directive, come up with strong infrastructure targets and more funding for a
    Read More

Highlighted Content