Op Ed: The FCC Can Save Lives on Roadways

The Hill Op-Ed by Shailen Bhatt, ITS America President & CEO

Op/Eds & Columns

Issues:

Connected Vehicles

May 23, 2019

As Memorial Day weekend approaches, most people are making plans to mark the unofficial start of summer and remembering those who gave their lives while serving in the armed forces. That’s what the holiday should be about.

What it should not be about is wondering how many people will die in car crashes over the first of summer’s long weekends. It’s unacceptable that we lose more than 100 people every day on U.S. roadways when technologies exist that can mitigate or eliminate a vast majority of these tragedies.

Vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-infrastructure, vehicle-to-pedestrian, collectively referred to as vehicle-to-everything or V2X technologies, have the potential to save lives, reduce crashes, increase mobility, and move toward a more sustainable transportation system. They rely on dedicated spectrum — known as the 5.9 GHz band — to ensure uninterrupted high-speed communications.

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Let’s Transform the Future Together.

Technology evolves faster than we can imagine the future. Rapidly evolving transportation innovations are being developed and deployed that promise to entirely reshape the way our transportation network operates, facilitating vast improvements to transportation safety and overall mobility. The promise of these innovations is apparent, but the deployment and application of these technologies is not without challenges. While technology disrupts the transportation ecosystem with new innovations and ideas, government, communities, private companies, and researchers must race to catch up to and contend with ideas never thought possible. How do we accelerate change and safely embrace new technology while promoting collaboration across industry to advance shared societal goals? Through nonprofits like the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America).

ITS America and its members have been at the center of these innovations, advocating for transformational technology to save lives, promote sustainability, and improve access to mobility.

Join us.

As advocates for transportation innovation throughout the world’s largest transportation network, ITS America’s public, private and academic members are dedicated to championing smart mobility strategies to ensure safe and thriving communities.
Ramin Massoumi, Global Solutions Director – Mobility, arcadis
Private companies, public agencies and academic institutions committed to influencing the future of intelligent transportation come together at ITS America. Every day, our members advance technology solutions that save lives and improve mobility across the country – in cities, suburbs, and rural communities.
Malcolm Dougherty, National Practice Executive, Transportation, Michael Baker International
At ITS America, our public, private and academic sector members are committed to deploying intelligent transportation technologies to save lives and improve mobility on our nation’s roads. While transportation constantly evolves, we will do all we can to ensure it continues to be the engine that drives our nation’s economy and contributes to improving our quality of life.
Carlos Braceras, Director, Utah Department of Transportation