Intelligent technologies promise greater road safety

When I spoke to the Intelligent Transportation Society of America’s annual meeting last year, I pledged that this DOT would be committed to:

• Improving safety;
• Creating jobs through infrastructure work;
• Promoting livable communities; and
• Exercising good environmental stewardship.

And I told ITSA that research and technology would play a crucial role in achieving these objectives. Well, readers of this blog know the Obama Administration has made good on that pledge.

Learn more about V2V communication at the IntelliDrive website.

But today, I'll speak at ITSA 2010 in Houston about the exciting technological research underway at DOT. The research project I'm most excited by is Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication.

Now, despite the tremendous advances our country has made in improving roadway and vehicle safety, nearly 34,000 people died last year alone on America's roadways. Far too many American families still experience the devastation caused by the loss or injury of a loved one in a traffic crash.

The 2.3 million injuries caused by vehicle crashes bring tragedy to individuals, families, businesses and communities, and are also an enormous burden on health care and other resources.

The bottom line is that roadway safety isn’t just a transportation issue; it's a matter of public health.

Our research shows that if drivers were warned about immediate dangers—like an impending collision—many of these deadly crashes could be avoided.

Science fiction? No, greater safety

It turns out that existing wireless technologies show real promise for dramatically reducing vehicle crashes. V2V communications systems will provide 360˚ situational awareness of other, similarly-equipped V2V vehicles within range. DOT analysis indicates that up to 76% of all crashes by unimpaired drivers could potentially be addressed by this technology.

I think that's pretty good news.

And V2V systems are built on low-cost technology that combines a wireless technology similar to household WiFi with the Global Positioning System (GPS) technology that is already in many vehicles. Under a cooperative agreement with automobile manufacturers, DOT has developed V2V safety system prototypes that build on this combination to transmit alerts and warnings to other vehicles sharing the roadway. 

Imagine the number of crashes that might be averted if vehicles were equipped with:

• Blind Spot Warning, warning drivers when they try to change lanes if there is a car in the blind spot.
• Forward Collision Warning, alerting and then warns drivers if they fail to brake when a vehicle ahead of them is stopped or traveling too slowly.
• Electronic Emergency Brake Lights, notifying drivers when a hard to see vehicle ahead of them is braking hard.
• Intersection Movement Assist, telling drivers when it is not safe to enter an intersection, for example, when something is blocking a driver’s view of opposing traffic.
• Do Not Pass Warning, warning drivers if they attempt to change lanes and pass when there is a vehicle in the opposing lane within the passing zone.
• Control Loss Warning, advising drivers when they are about to lose control of the vehicle.

Like I said, this is pretty exciting territory. Our cars may start telling us how to drive.

Okay, it may not exactly be the stuff of science fiction. But, it's not the sci-fi-ness of the technology that has me revved up. It's the improved road safety these developments promise.

Because, when safety is your number one priority, that kind of promise is truly exciting.

Comments

[Paul Kompfner]

Hi Secretary La Hood,
I'm delighted to see top-level recognition and support for the role that cooperative ITS (V2V and V2I) can play to improve road safety. I'm coordinating Europe's largest project (www.cvisproject.org) to validate the concept of cooperative ITS for transport network efficiency, alongside other safety-oriented projects. We're in regular touch with your RITA and NHTSA people, and want to affirm our support for your efforts to bring these promising technologies onto the market, and onto our streets. As ITS Europe, ERTICO is keen to deepen our cooperation with ITS America and your Department so that we can agree on common standards, organisational models and deployment roadmaps - since the market will ultimately be global, and the problems we are addressing certainly are. Best regards, Paul Kompfner

[Tom Hodgson]

The Secretary is so right! Technology can save lives. We also argue that speed governors (already installed on most Class 8 trucks) when used to maximize truck speeds at 65mph can save even more lives. Let's make it a law!

Tom Hodgson
Road Safe America

[Matthew Davis]

Since this technology requires the apparatus to be present and functioning in other cars, there is a risk here. As drivers learn that "alert indicates danger", how do we ensure they don't also learn that "no alert indicates no danger"? This will be easy at first, but as the technology spreads and drivers encounter fewer situations where there is danger but no alert, drivers will begin to rely more on the technology and less on their own senses.

[Richard C. Moeur]

In the past, these types of technologies have had difficulties detecting and dealing with road users such as pedestrians & bicyclists. While these systems may have the potential to reduce many common crashes, I would hate for them to be used as a pretext for restricting cyclists' and pedestrians' rights to the road just because the technology can't deal with non-motorized non-instrumented users.

I also think that there may be an unpleasant possibility that these systems could engender a cultural shift where drivers pay even less attention to the road & other traffic as they gab & text - after all, that's what the fancy collision avoidance system is for, right?

[Rob]

Interesting. This technology may also be useful in avoiding the expense of major capital projects driven by safety concerns and focused primarily on removing design deficiencies. Afterall, it is driver behavior that generally causes accidents, not the highway design, necessarily.

In addition, it is worth noting that the absolute best way to improve safety (and level of service for the highway) is to get people out of their cars. Transit benefits everyone. While highway remain important, urban add-a-lanes are not only unimportant, but a waste of resources. Adding a lane when three or four more are needed doesn't accomplish much . . . spen the money on transit instead and add financial inducement to use it.

[April Braswell]

The V2V communication really does sound like a potentially life saving break through. It sounds vaguely like the offerings in some luxury cars I remember their ads from a few years ago. Do you see this as an option like portable GPS units which owners of older cars will be able to purchase? Or only equipped into brand new cars?

Sincerely,

April Braswell

[Michael E. Bailey]

This is great news. This equipment should be made standard on all new cars in the next 4 or 5 years. It cannot come on line soon enough. I hope the car manufacturers will be cooperative on this important issue and will make the equipment standard on thfeir own without needing federal legislation. But, if necessary, federal legislation should be passed to make the equipment a standard feature. Best wishes, Michael E. Bailey.

[NICK D'INNOCENZO]

WHILE AUTOMOBILE TO AUTOMOBILE COMMUNICATION IS AN ADMIRABLE STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION WHY NOT STOP ALL COLLISIONS BY MAKING MANDATORY ON ALL CARS A SYSTEM SIMILAR TO THE DISTRONIC PLUS THAT MERCEDES-BENZ NOW HAS THAT UTILIZES TWO ON-BOARD RADAR UNITS THAT CONTROL BRAKING AUTOMATICALLY WHEN APPROACHING AN OBSTACLE AT A RATE OF SPEED GREATER THAN NECESSARY TO AVOID A COLLISION. WHY IS THAT TECHNOLOGY NOT REQUIRED ON ALL VEHICLES? SINCE IT INCLUDES EVEN AN EMERGENCY STOP IT WOULD ELIMINATE ALL REAR-END ACCIDENTS AND MOST OTHER COLLISIONS.

[Matt]

V2V communication promises to deliver solutions to problems that have already been solved with sensoric systems in today's cars. For example, Blind Spot Warning (vision based), Forward Collison Warning (vision and/or radar based), passing assistant (radar based) can be purchased as options in many newer cars - without any need to use V2V communication.
And the best news is that drivers of these cars benefit from the features immediately and do not have to wait until all cars are equipped with V2V technology in 30+ years. Since the technology works and is out there, why do want to push for V2V to achieve the same ojectives again?

[Oleg mart]

I saw something like this technology on Top Gear. Also, an unmanned vehicle. This will surely increase the safety of all the drivers. V2V system is a great system in the future, probably in the next 20 years it will be utilized. I think this technology is now available but it needs more refinement.

[Vehicle Parking Solutions]

I believe that means that you are not allowed to drive OVER the posted speed limit just because a bunch of other people are doing it. The “reasonable and prudent” stipulation is actually referring to changing driving conditions in which you should drive SLOWER than the posted speed limit .

[Karen Hill]

There are many times when people are tired after a long day at work and get drowsy on the drive home. On most major highways there are strips along the shoulder of the road that make a grinding noise when you drive over them. This is intended to wake you up and bring back your attention to driving. If this happens you should recognize that it is more than a wake-up call. It is telling you that at the present time you are not in the right presence of mind to be driving and that you could cause an accident.
There are devices you use in your car if you tend to become drowsy when you are driving. These are easily worn on your head like headphones and will send a signal when the device detects that you are starting to nod off. They are very inexpensive and will prove themselves over and over again by keeping your attention where it should be – on the road in front of you.

[boom trucks]

I am glad to know about that.When technology helps make earlier life better that is the best part of the advanced times.The road signals and the car technologies responding to it is amazing.

[Trucks for Sale]

We definitely need greater road safety...how about taking cell phones away from teen drivers?? :)

[Carroll]

Technology is great for new cars....but....even if they make it mandatory on the 2012 cars....it will be 2030 before every car on the highway has it. Which is not going to make much difference on the number of highway deaths for many years.

So .... people are just going to have to pay more attention while driving the highways.

[Sharat Jaswal]

I remember watching a movie called "I Robot". Will Smith slept in the car and yet reached his destination. Now that is technology.

I seriously wish to see a technology like that where everything is controlled by the technology thus making it an easier, faster and at the same time a "Safe" world to live in.

But hey, is that even possible in my lifetime? I am 30 right now!!!!

[Como Hacer Amarres de Amor]

I am pleasantly surprised with the use of these technological resources to reduce the number of traffic accidents.

And I can see that if the technology is accessible and not be very expensive.

I think that can be implemented also in Latin American countries where the number of traffic accidents is very high.

[James Holloman]

Sounds like V2V is similar to TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System) that exist in airplanes today. I am interested to see how it plays in the reduction of accident