Major Initiatives > Vehicle Infrastructure Integration

Overview

Nationwide deployment of a communications infrastructure on the roadways and in all production vehicles could improve transportation and the quality of American life in ways not imagined a generation ago.

Crash prevention and congestion relief through vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-roadside communication

About 21,000 of the 43,000 deaths that occur each year on U.S. highways result from vehicles leaving the road or traveling unsafely through intersections. To save lives and prevent injuries on roadways, communication between vehicles and between vehicles and the roadside are required. Such advanced, wireless communication is supported by Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC), a tool approved for licensing by the FCC in 2003.

Implementing Strategies to Save Lives and Relieve Traffic Congestion

This initiative will build on the availability of advanced vehicle safety systems developed under the Intelligent Vehicle Initiative (IVI) and on the results of related research and operational tests. It is also supported by radio spectrum at 5.9 GHz specifically allocated for DSRC.

The fundamental building blocks of the VII concept are coordinated deployments of communication technologies:

• In all vehicles by the automotive industry, and
• On all major U.S. roadways by the transportation public sector.

Data transmitted from the roadside to the vehicle could warn a driver that it is not safe to enter an intersection. Vehicles could serve as data collectors and anonymously transmit traffic and road condition information from every major road within the transportation network.  Such information would provide transportation agencies with the information needed to implement active strategies to relieve traffic congestion. A VII consortium has been established to determine the feasibility of widespread deployment and to establish an implementation strategy. The consortium consists of the vehicle manufacturers already involved in the IVI, AASHTO, ten State Departments of Transportation, and the US DOT.

Updated October 9, 2008 4:11 PM