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Remarks

Paul R. Brubaker, Administrator, Research and Innovative Technology Administration
ITS Michigan Annual Meeting
Novi, MI
May 14, 2008

Good afternoon. Thank you, Peter for that warm introduction.

As most of you know, this is National Transportation Week, and given the area's significance in transportation, I cannot think of a better place to mark the occasion.

I also want to thank the Michigan Department of Transportation and Intelligent Transportation Society of Michigan for bringing transportation professionals from throughout the nation together to talk about the latest in "intelligent transportation."

The rise of wireless communications- technology has been so rapid, and widespread, that affordable mobile devices are a basic part of our daily lives

WiFi hotspots and the ability to access the internet from almost anywhere has become the norm.
We are connecting in ways that would not have been possible a few years ago, and this connectivity is transforming how business, government and people communicate in America.

• Our purchasing power: consumers now have access to an almost infinite marketplace, moving beyond physical boundaries, we now shop globally for products;
  
• Our access to information: people no longer need to wait for the eleven o’clock news to find out what's going on; local, national and even international news is provided almost immediately online.
• Our interaction with each other; social networking sites like MySpace and FaceBook have completely changed the concept of "pen pals"—allowing people from throughout the world to instantly connect based on shared interest, activities or political views.

Unfortunately, despite its far reaching effects, connectivity has parked itself within our cubicles, our homes, and our coffee houses—in fact, everywhere except our cars.

We—the leaders in the transportation community—have the opportunity and the responsibility to bridge this gap.

As I mentioned, this is a profound opportunity.

The connectivity created by ITS technologies will help to significantly improve safety, while at the same time reducing congestion, and improving the efficiency of our Nation's transportation system.

The technology is ready, so the critical next step is to work with our partners in government, industry, and academia to bring these innovations into the field.

100 years ago, Michigan's transportation professionals helped transform our nation when they built a new industry – and a great city – by making the automobile a mainstay of American mobility and freedom: GM and the Model “T”.

This reminds me of what Margaret Meade once said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”

Today, it is in that spirit that Michigan continues to live out its transportation legacy as an integral part of the research and development of cooperative vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications and information systems.

Our partnership with the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute recently celebrated a milestone as our IVBSS program successfully moved beyond Phase I.
This integrated crash warning system will provide comprehensive, coordinated and timely safety information to drivers to simultaneously protect against all of the most common types of crashes. These IVBSS systems have been developed, tested and proven to work well.

I'm please to report that we have approved Phase II, which will test this system in a "real world" environment and assess the actual reduction in crashes that we could see through IVBSS.

And the state that put the world on wheels continues to be a driving force for future innovations. This winter and spring, our VII partners have been testing VII technologies and capabilities in a test bed covering 75 center-line miles of roadway over 45 square miles.

The initial round of testing conducted at the Development Test Environment here in Novi has provided valuable insight into:

• How VII data can be collected and used to improve safety and mobility;
• The capability of Dedicated Short Range Communications for wireless data transfer; and
• Technologies for supporting backhaul communications.

Our auto industry partners also indicate having learned a great deal from this cooperative testing experience.

The current round of testing is scheduled to end this July, and a full report of the results will be made available to everyone in the ITS industry.

As this phase of our work is nearing completion, the Department is currently working to ensure that the test bed remains available for future use.

In February, we solicited industry feedback on desired uses of the test facility and possible models for operating and maintaining it in future.

We received a great deal of interest and are aggressively exploring these options.

The Department’s VII research and development effort involves three phases; the first being a major field test of VII operational capability.

This phase, called SafeTrip-21, continues the Department’s commitment to investing in dynamic partnerships with state and local governments, academia, non-profits, and industry.

The SafeTrip-21 initiative will leverage existing technologies to bring “situational awareness” to drivers, offering the potential to greatly reduce congestion and its impact on our quality of life, productivity and the environment.

Not only will SafeTrip-21 provide the tools for American’s to drive on safer roads and enjoy more freedom from congestion, it also will provide vital data for transportation stakeholders to more effectively plan future transportation systems and infrastructure.

I assure you that the USDOT remains committed to a strong VII research program. That includes showcasing what can be done today through SafeTrip-21 and also answering the key technical and institutional questions to enable active safety and advanced mobility systems in the future.

In addition to DSRC, we are currently exploring how rapidly advancing communications technology, such as WiMAX/3G and mobile ad-hoc networks, will enable our desired outcomes.

While DSRC may not be the entire solution, its capability for transferring information from vehicle-to-vehicle, and vehicle-to-infrastructure, at this time remains an important element in the current VII architecture.

One of the challenges of SafeTrip-21 will be to shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of a DSRC backbone, and pursue other technologies that can support and transcend this capability.

I believe that in the near future, connectivity will become as much a part of our daily driving experience as our laptops, PDA-style mobile phones and other WiFi and WiMAX-enabled devices that have become part of how we do business, and conduct our lives.

[Holds up Wireless Handheld Device.]

This allows me to communicate at almost any time with my staff and stakeholders, despite my travel schedule—if I am stuck at La Guardia, and I need to review a document, no problem. You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer.

This also enhances my personal life; my family can reach me at anytime, anywhere. We take these things for granted, yet this is a young innovation.

Think about how it has changed our lives. Many of us in this room remember that there was once a time when you didn't have to ask a person where they were when they answered the phone. You knew where they were. In fact, some of us remember when the operator helped make the call.

Now, imagine the possibilities for transportation, if such innovations of connectivity—despite their ambitiousness and practical challenges—are accelerated into our transportation systems.

I have no doubt that in the near future the average person will struggle to understand how we got along without VII, which will be a fine with me, because it will mean our vision for a future transportation system has become a reality.

Lives will be saved; dollars will be saved; mobility improved, and pain and suffering will be avoided. This sounds pretty good to me.

Thank you for inviting me to join you here today. I am looking forward to continuing our valuable exchange of ideas as we work together to advance ITS technologies, and speed their implementation into our Nation’s transportation system.