The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) and a comprehensive research report on vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications technology. The report will include analysis of the department's research findings in several key areas including technical feasibility, privacy and security, and preliminary estimates on costs and safety benefits, while the ANPRM seeks public input on these findings to support the department’s regulatory work to eventually require V2V devices in new light vehicles.
The report includes preliminary estimates of safety benefits that show two safety applications - Left Turn Assist (LTA) and Intersection Movement Assist (IMA) – could prevent up to 592,000 crashes and save 1,083 lives saved per year. LTA warns drivers not to turn left in front of another vehicle traveling in the opposite direction and IMA warns them if it is not safe to enter an intersection due to a high probability of colliding with one or more vehicles.
The accompanying ANPRM will help DOT and NHTSA gather significant input from the public and stakeholders as NHTSA works to deliver a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking by 2016.
Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) president and CEO Scott Belcher has released a statement supporting the research report, saying it’s a significant step in automotive and pedestrian safety. There, however, are still some challenges.
“While we are at the cusp of deploying this life-saving technology, the biggest obstacle we face is the continued pressure on Congress and federal regulators to open up or reallocate the 5.9 GHz band of spectrum, which was set aside by the Federal Communications Commission for V2V technology,” Belcher said. “We remain committed to exploring whether spectrum sharing is feasible in the 5.9 GHz band without risking interference from Wi-Fi devices, but safety is paramount and saving lives must be the first priority.”
Participants at the 21st World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) in Detroit will have the opportunity to hear more about and discuss the ANPRM and supporting comprehensive research report during the U.S. DOT Plenary session on Tuesday, Sept. 9 and the “Ask NHTSA” breakfast on Wednesday, Sept. 10.
