Accelerating the Benefits of ITS Deployment for All Travelers

Posted by ITS JPO Director Ken Leonard 11/6/20

For decades, the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint Program Office (JPO) has been steadfastly researching the latest innovations in transportation technology. From electronic toll collection and dynamic message signs, to road weather forecasting and information systems, to lane departure warning systems, and more, our research has driven changes in our nation’s transportation system that have had lasting effects on the safety of our roads and the way Americans travel.

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Protecting the Safety of Drivers Inside and Outside the Vehicle

Posted by ITS JPO Director Ken Leonard 10/14/20

When we talk about the safety of our roads, many of us think of travelers inside vehicles. But road safety also includes travelers outside vehicles. Pedestrians, bicyclists, children being pushed in strollers, and people using wheelchairs or other mobility devices are all at risk when traveling along roads, parking lots, crosswalks, and garages.

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Harmonizing Data in an Evolving World

Posted by ITS JPO Director Ken Leonard 9/10/20

The top priority for the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint Program Office (JPO) is and always will be safety. The need for safety underlies all our program areas, including our focus on enabling access to core transportation data across the ITS ecosystem. Data access is crucial to the development and integration of innovative ITS technologies, such as connected and automated vehicles, that promise to drive our transportation into the future.

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Can Automation Address Today's Public Health Challenges?

Posted by ITS JPO Director Ken Leonard 7/8/20

Over 36,000 people lost their lives in motor vehicle crashes on U.S. roads in 2018. Moreover, 94 percent of serious crashes are due to human error. In other words, the vast majority of those deaths were avoidable. When you begin to consider this in terms of the number of our family members, friends, neighbors who could’ve been saved, you begin to grasp the urgency of finding a solution. Automation in transportation could be part of that solution. 

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How Emerging Technologies Can Help in Crisis Response

Posted by ITS JPO Director Ken Leonard 6/10/20

Welcome back to the ITS and You blog! This month, let’s jump right into discussing one of our new research areas, Emerging and Enabling Technologies. This program is about keeping America at the forefront of advancements in transportation technology. We want to make sure that we stay ahead of the curve in tracking and assessing promising innovative or disruptive technologies for our transportation systems, particularly those that offer the greatest benefits to you—the public.

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Ensuring Transportation Safety and Advancement During Unprecedented Times

Posted by ITS JPO Director Ken Leonard 5/7/20

Welcome to the very first ITS and You blog post. When we initially considered launching a blog series on behalf of the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint Program Office (JPO), the impetus was to connect with people, share highlights of our program, and outline how our activities affect you. That was a couple of months ago; we never could have predicted then the impact of COVID-19 and the unprecedented times we’d find ourselves in—or how important virtual communication would become to all of us, as the best and safest way to reach out and engage with each other...

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