ITS America Applauds DOT for Deploying V2X to Help Emergency Responders

ITS America President & CEO Shailen Bhatt on Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao’s Announcement at TRB Today

Statements & Press Releases

Issues:

Connected Vehicles

January 15, 2020

“Emergency responders put their lives on the line every day and are the first to rush into harm’s way when crashes occur on U.S. roadways. Secretary Chao’s announcement today committing $38 million to equip emergency response vehicles and infrastructure with life-saving vehicle-toeverything (V2X) technology is yet another example of why the 5.9GHz band must be fully preserved for safety critical communications. It is unacceptable that we continue to lose 36,000 people every year, particularly when V2X technologies can prevent a vast majority of these tragedies. In 2017, emergency response vehicles were involved in 46,000 crashes, which resulted in nearly 17,000 injuries. It’s time for the Federal Communications Commission to stop misleading the public about the impact of its proposal to give away much of the safety spectrum and start prioritizing saving lives.

ITS America is very pleased with USDOT’s and Secretary Chao’s continued leadership on this critical issue.”

Contact: Cathy St. Denis, cstdenis@itsa.org

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About ITS America The Intelligent Transportation Society of America advances the research and deployment of intelligent transportation technologies to save lives, improve mobility, promote sustainability, and increase efficiency and productivity. Our vision is a better future transformed by intelligent mobility: safer, greener, smarter. For more information, please visit www.itsa.org

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