The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) recently released a plan to accelerate the use of vehicles that are able to connect to everything around them, such as other vehicles, pedestrians, and infrastructure. 

Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology is one tool that could reduce deaths and serious injury on the nation’s roadways, the plan says. 

A short-term goal in the plan calls for having V2X deployed on 20% of the National Highway System within the next four years. This would increase to 50% between 2029 and 2031 and 100% between 2032 and 2036. 

The plan also outlines short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals for V2X advancements from stakeholders such as cities, OEMs, technology developers, and government agencies. 

The National V2X Development Plan says “deploying improved wireless connectivity enables a safer, secure, and more efficient transportation system while maintaining privacy and consumer protection.” 

A vehicle equipped with V2X could receive key information about the location and actions of vehicles and other road users along with messages about traffic conditions, the plan said. This could include the state of equipment signals and prevailing roadway conditions. 

Data from a 2017 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report estimates vehicle-to-vehicle safety applications using dedicated short-range communications, Intersection Movement Assist, and Left Turn Assist could prevent 439,000-615,000 crashes, about 13-18% of total reported crashes, and save 987-1,366 lives annually, the plan says. 

A Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority Connected Vehicle Pilot also estimates 21 potential pedestrian crashes were prevented with V2X and Pedestrian Collision Warning applications. 

DOT started working on its plan in 2022 with a draft released in 2023, the plan says. 

The federal agency has taken numerous steps to promote the use of V2X including support for expediting by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to waive certain rules to permit the immediate deployment of V2X technology. DOT also says it has provided resources to V2X developers, met with stakeholders including state and local agencies and automotive associations, and invested $61.5 million into V2X research and development. 

“This document presents a plan to accelerate the deployment of V2X,” the plan says. “The plan sets the DOT’s vision, aspirational goals, and milestones, and issues a call to action for stakeholders, including government at all levels, public agencies, and the private sector. The aspirational goals and targets do not imply a legislative/regulatory mandate or dedicated federal funding. Instead, the plan provides a path that demonstrates federal leadership and will allow government and industry to work together towards the same goals.” 

DOT notes that meeting goals set in the plan will require “commitment and investment” from the V2X community. 

“Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) will decide the extent to which V2X devices — such as onboard units — are installed in new vehicles,” the plan says. “OEMs may not all have uniform views on the business case to invest in V2X technologies but they may collaborate with other members of the private sector, and public agencies deploying V2X infrastructure. Meanwhile, device manufacturers will likely seek to ensure that roadside units and onboard units are developed appropriately with standards to ensure interoperability and have them tested and certified so that deployers (OEMs and Infrastructure Owner Operators) have certainty about going forward successfully.”

Cybersecurity and privacy principles are critical to a successful V2X deployment and interoperable deployment is crucial, it says. This would allow vehicles and devices to communicate ubiquitously, efficiently, and securely in a privacy-protected manner using multiple wireless communications technologies, wireless messages, and open data formats and standards. 

The plan also notes that the wireless spectrum is limited. 

“Low-latency, safety-related applications will utilize the 30-megahertz portion (5.895-5.925 GHz) in the 5.9 GHz band reserved by FCC rule, while other applications will need to use other communication approaches, including solutions utilizing other spectrum,” the plan says. “Various cellular communication-based approaches have been deployed; however, these may not be fully interoperable across multiple supplier ecosystems.” 

DOT says it plans to continue coordinating resources across operating agencies and offices to support the deployment of V2X technologies. This will include funding technologies, stakeholder engagement options, and providing building space for development. 

“To successfully accelerate this technology deployment to save lives and advance national goals, the U.S. needs to develop the workforce and skills critical to growing these systems,” the plan says. “Growing the knowledge and skills of professional staff within public agencies is critical. One way would be to assess internal organizational capacities, gaps, and needs to plan a deployment that is tailored to their community.”

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