Skip to main content

ITS Australia welcomes USDOT move on V2V communications

The announcement by the United States Government announcement that it will begin taking steps to enable vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technology for light vehicles has been welcomed by ITS Australia, which said it is pivotal in taking road safety to the next level. This technology improves safety by allowing vehicles to ‘talk’ to each other and exchange basic safety data, such as speed, position and projected path, ten times per second. The US Department of Transportation (DOT) announcement inc
February 17, 2014 Read time: 3 mins
The announcement by the United States Government announcement that it will begin taking steps to enable vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technology for light vehicles has been welcomed by 858 ITS Australia, which said it is pivotal in taking road safety to the next level.

This technology improves safety by allowing vehicles to ‘talk’ to each other and exchange basic safety data, such as speed, position and projected path, ten times per second.  The 324 US Department of Transportation (DOT) announcement includes ‘multiple layers of security and privacy protection’.

The 834 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is now finalising the analysis of the data from this study. NHTSA will then begin working on a regulatory proposal that would require V2V devices in new vehicles in a future year, consistent with applicable legal requirements, Executive Orders, and guidance. DOT believes that the signal this announcement sends to the market will significantly enhance development of this technology and pave the way for market penetration of V2V safety applications.

ITS Australia chief executive officer Susan Harris said: “Passive safety products, such as seat belts and air bags that protect people in a crash, have greatly reduced road trauma. V2V technology is the next major step forward. This active safety system enables real time communication between vehicles to help avoid collisions in the first place.”

US DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx said V2V technology has the potential to avoid 70 to 80 per cent of crashes that involve unimpaired drivers. The DOT approval follows almost a decade of testing and a rigorous Safety Pilot Model Deployment study begun in 2012 in Michigan involving almost 3,000 cars, buses, trucks and motorcycles equipped with 5.9 GHz dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) radios.  

“Australia’s innovative ITS industry is at the forefront of the V2V technology proven in this Safety Pilot Model Deployment study. We are also international leaders in other intelligent transport systems technologies,” said Susan Harris.

To capitalise on and grow the advanced capabilities of the local ITS industry, ITS Australia is working with the local ITS industry, led by the University of South Australia, to establish an Intelligent Transport Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) to drive further research.

Susan Harris said a CRC will ensure that Australia continues to be a leader in the competitive high technology international transport market. “The fact that we have the skills and drive for innovation is proven by the fact that creative Australian businesses are producing world’s best practice ITS solutions – and are achieving significant exports,” she said.

Related Content

  • ITS World Congress award for Transport Certification Australia
    October 17, 2013
    The 2013 ITS World Congress has awarded the 2013 Intelligent Transport Systems Industry Award to Transport Certification Australia (TCA) for its pioneering work in telematics and cooperative intelligent transport systems. Congratulating TCA, ITS Australia Chief Executive Officer Susan Harris said the international recognition for TCA’s contribution was well deserved. “TCA has been a creative and confident leader in a complex sector of the ITS industry,” she said.
  • Visteon to provide communications equipment for US vehicle-to-vehicle pilot program
    October 4, 2012
    Automotive supplier Visteon Corporation, in collaboration with Cohda Wireless, is providing vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications equipment for the US Department of Transportation safety pilot program. The project potentially offers significant improvements in driver awareness including collision, hazardous road and curve speed warnings and traffic flow information. The safety pilot program is led by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute and will integrate 5.9 GHz dedicated short ra
  • Need to analyse risks of 5.9GHz spectrum sharing
    February 27, 2013
    Scott Belcher of ITS America explains why moves towards spectrum sharing in the 5.9GHz band should not be allowed to proceed until further analysis of the risks to road safety has been undertaken. The ability to move people and goods safely and efficiently has always had a direct impact on a country’s economic advantage and its citizens’ quality of life. It is estimated that by 2050, the number of vehicles around the world is set to double to two billion, placing enormous demands on the global transport
  • Cooperative road infrastructures - progress and the future
    February 1, 2012
    Robert Bertini, deputy administrator of the USDOT's Research and Innovative Technology Administration, discusses the research and deployment paths of cooperative road infrastructures. High-level analysis by the US's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the potential of Vehicle-to-Infrastructure/Infrastructure-to-Vehicle (V2I/I2V) and Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) technologies indicates that V2V could in exclusivity address a large proportion of crashes involving unimpaired drivers. In fact,