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

  • Authors publish roadmap for creating smart cities
    May 30, 2019
    Authors Oliver Gassmann, Jonas Böhm and Maximilian Palmié have published a book to aid stakeholders in the development of smart cities. The authors say Smart Cities: Introducing Digital Innovations to Cities explores how the smart city concept promises to solve urban issues such as mobility, pollution and inclusion. The book is expected to serve as road map and provide answers to the following questions: • What core elements constitute smart cities? • How can the digital shadow of city element
    Read More
  • Redflex ‘does not expect further action’ from US Department of Justice
    January 18, 2019
    Traffic enforcement specialist Redflex Holdings says it expects no further legal action or new financial liabilities arising from investigations by the US Department of Justice (DoJ). The action, which has rumbled on for several years, related to misconduct by former employees of US subsidiary Redflex Traffic Systems. The company signed a two-year non-prosecution agreement (NPA) with the DoJ, which has now ended. Under the expired deal, the DoJ agreed not to charge the firm with any offence provided t
    Read More
  • Ertico prepares for World Congress 2015
    December 15, 2014
    Hot on the heels of the 21st ITS World Congress in Detroit, Ertico - ITS Europe is already writing session proposals, contacting speakers and putting together the demonstration programme for the 2015 ITS World Congress. This will take place from 5-9 October in the French city of Bordeaux, one of the most advanced cities in Europe in terms of ITS adoption, and will have the theme of ‘Towards intelligent mobility – Better use of space’.
    Read More
  • Europe calls for guidance on evaluating ITS projects
    December 4, 2012
    A European Commission study report has revealed a lack of consistency or standard practice for evaluating the funding needs and fiscal performance of ITS projects. New guidelines are urgently needed for monitoring public funding of ITS schemes, says a recent report from the European Commission (EC). A specially-commissioned study has found no readily available comparative analysis of transport funding schemes and ITS investment methodologies to support project decision making. A survey of nine EU member sta
    Read More

Highlighted Content