We are well into the July 4^th week, a time when many Americans will vacation or visit family, as more than 50 million did last year, making it one of our biggest travel holidays. That’s why ITS America and its members are focused on how we can best make traveling safer, greener, and smarter for all. This week, Momentum will serve as a quick review of everything ITS America has been working on in recent months along with a few reminders for upcoming events. So, take a few moments while relaxing, firing up the grill, or while by the pool to refresh yourself on all our recent work and make sure you schedule time to join us for our upcoming activities.

On June 20^th, ITS America’s President & CEO Laura Chace joined Shailen Bhatt, Administrator of the Federal Highway Administration, Dr. Robert Hampshire, Deputy Assistant Secretary and Chief Science Officer of Research and Technology at USDOT, Carlos Braceras of the Utah Department of Transportation, Erin Mendenhall, the Mayor of Salt Lake City, and Jay Fox of the Utah Transit Authority as USDOT announced the winners of the V2X Accelerator grants. Laura continued on to Maricopa County for an event with that winning team and USDOT the next day. The third award was granted to the Texas A&M Texas Transportation Institute. ITS America is proud to be a partner with all the grantees and will be supporting these projects moving forward.

Last week the ITS America Board of Directors approved two AI documents that were created by the Digital Infrastructure Committee and AI & Digital Transformation Working Group, which were developed to provide the community with a deeper understanding of AI and to guide the development and deployment of AI in transportation. The first, our ITS America – AI Policy Principles were developed to guide the regulation, development, and deployment of AI technologies in transportation. These policy principles focus on three key themes: (1) establishing trust and transparency in AI, (2) encouraging a human-centric approach to AI deployment, and (3) identifying tangible outcomes from AI applications. The second, AI Decoded provides an in-depth exploration of the different types of AI and their impact on the transportation industry. This comprehensive overview aims to demystify AI and showcase its transformative potential in modern transportation, allowing for common understanding across the industry.

To participate in a deeper exploration of the AI Policy Principles and AI Decoded, please join us for a webinar reviewing these two documents on July 8^th at 2pm.

Last week, USDOT announced the latest round of RAISE grants. RAISE grants are vital investments into our transportation and other infrastructure projects nationwide. This announcement included $1.8 billion in grants across 148 projects in all 50 states. ITS America members with projects announced last week include: Delaware DOT, District DOT (Washington, DC), Kansas DOT, Maine DOT, Maryland DOT, Minnesota DOT, New York City DOT, and the Utah DOT. We look forward to the improvements and advancements these projects will bring to our nation’s roads.

On Thursday, July 11^th, ITS America will be hosting the latest in its Digital Infrastructure webinar series. This webinar will focus on cybersecurity and the growing need for cybersecurity to be built into the Digital Roadway Infrastructure from the ground up and not as an afterthought where is it eventually “overlaid” on the technologies being deployed. 

At the end of this month, on Monday, July 29^th, ITS America is thrilled to join our frequent partner, the Transportation Research Board (TRB), in San Diego, CA for the Automated Road Transportation Symposium (ARTS) where we will host a two-part session including: part one – AI Principles: Harnessing the Power of AI in Transportation and part two – Navigating Successful Public Private Deployment of Automated Vehicles. In addition to the two-part session, we welcome you to join us at the TRB ARTS kick-off ITS America Reception sponsored by HNTB and Michelin Mobility Intelligence. If you are attending, we hope to see you there!

REGISTRATION IS OPEN for the ITS America Policy Summit this September 11-12, 2024 in Washington, DC. Join ITS America, public and private sector leaders, practitioners, policy professionals, researchers, and federal government officials from the Executive Branch and Congress as we further the conversation on how transportation technology can help achieve our shared goals of increasing safety, sustainability, resiliency, efficiency, accessibility, and mobility. This two-day event will include sessions that focus on discussions around the intersection of emerging technologies and transportation policy. Each committee will have their yearly in-person meeting to discuss key issues, deliverables, and future work of the committees. Take a look at the full agenda to register now as space is limited and join in on this thought-provoking Summit! 

We have news about two World Congresses to share; if you are considering travelling to the 30^th ITS World Congress in Dubai, the event starts in 77 days, register today to join ITS America leadership and industry professionals across the globe in Dubai!

Closer to home, last month, ITS America announced the theme and World Congress Board of Directors Chair of ITS World Congress 2025. The theme of our next World Congress will be “Deploying Today, Empowering Tomorrow”, reinforcing that the industry is actively deploying technology right now that will build safer roads and a stronger economy for the future. The World Congress Board of Directors will be chaired by Ramin Massoumi, Global Solutions Director with Arcadis and Arcadis will be one of the premier sponsors of the event.

All of us at ITS America wish you all the best for the 4^th of July holiday and safe travels throughout the summer season.

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