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​​What is Connected-Vehicle Technology?

Connected-vehicle technology enables commercial and passenger vehicles to communicate with each other, with the infrastructure, and with other road vehicles, such as motorcycles. It is also described as vehicle to everything (V2X), an umbrella term covering the various elements with which vehicles can communicate.

Connected-vehicle technology (V2X): Where are we today and what does the future look like?

In our four-part Most Wanted List (MWL) Interview video series, Board Member Michael Graham talks with experts from government, industry, and academia about the safety benefits and the maturity level of V2X technology, the reasons for its scarce deployment, and the impact of the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) recent actions to limit the spectrum available for transportation safety.

• The basic viability of V2X is being threatened. 
• The FCC’s regulatory actions substantially limit the spectrum available for transportation safety and allow for harmful interference from unlicensed Wi-Fi devices. 
• Regulatory uncertainty is the primary reason for the lack of V2X deployment.
  

Require Collision-Avoidance and Connected-Vehicle Technologies on all Vehicles​ is a safety topic on our MWL of Transportation Safety Improvements.

Of crashes ​​V2X could address​ involving nonimpaired drivers. (Source: US DOT/Volpe Center)

We can no longer afford to wait; we need to move toward the nationwide deployment of this technology to save lives and prevent injuries. 

Series Episodes:​

Episode 1: V2X Overview, Effectiveness Research, and Wi-Fi Interference ​

​We examine the maturity level of the technology, the impact of the FCC’s decision to substantially reduce the spectrum, and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s research examining the impact of interference of unlicensed WiFi devices on V2X communication.

Guests:
Download the guest bios.​

• Debby Bezzina - managing director, Center for Connected and Automated Transportation, University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute 
• Bob Kreeb - chief of the Electronic Systems Safety Research Division, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Referenced research & reports:

• DOT HS 811 492A Vehicle Safety Communications-Applications
• DOT/NHTSA Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communications Research Project (V2V-CR)
• DOT HS 812 014 Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communications: Readiness of V2V Technology for Application
• DOT HS 812 171 Safety Pilot Model Deployment
• DOT HS 812 222 Independent Evaluation of Light-Vehicle Safety Applications Based on Vehicle-to-Vehicle Communications Used in the 2012-2013 Safety Pilot Model Deployment​

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​​Episode 2: Impact of FCC Actions and Global Advancements 

We examine the impact of regulatory actions, and explore how other countries around the world are deploying V2X.

Guests:
Download the guest bios.

• Ken Leonard, director of the US Department of Transportation’s Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint Program Office
• Laura Chace, president and chief executive officer of ITS America

Referenced research & letters:

• CELLULAR V2X DEVICE-TO-DEVICE COMMUNICATION CONSORTIUM - Task 8: Assessment of WiFi Interference to C-V2X Communication Based on Proposed FCC 5.9 GHz NPRM
• PETITION FOR RECONSIDERATION OF THE ALLIANCE FOR AUTOMOTIVE INNOVATION
• DOT Test Plan and Test Procedures Summary
• Ford comments to FCC - March 2020​ 

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​Episode 3: Infrastructure Deployment and State DOT Perspective

Related Information

​​NTSB’s Related Investigations

The following crash investigations and safety studies highlight why connected-vehicle technologies are needed now.

• Multiple Vehicle Collision with Fire during Fog near Milepost 118 on Interstate 40, Menifee, Arkansas
  
• School Bus and Truck Collision at Intersection, Chesterfield, New Jersey
  
• Vehicle Collision with Student Pedestrians Crossing High Speed Roadway to Board School Bus, Rochester, Indiana
  
• Collision Between a Car Operating With Automated Vehicle Control Systems and a Tractor-Semitrailer Truck Near Williston, Florida May 7, 2016, Williston, Florida
  
• Select Risk Factors Associated with Causes of Motorcycle Crashes
  
• Bicyclist Safety on US Roadways: Crash Risks and Countermeasures, Safety Research Report
  
• The Use of Forward Collision Avoidance Systems to Prevent and Mitigate Rear-End Crashes
• ​​Multivehicle Crash Near Mt. Pleasant Township, Pennsylvania​ ​​
  

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​Our Recommendations

Since 1995, the NTSB has issued numerous recommendations related to connected vehicle technologies. See the recommendations​​.​​

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Rulemaking and NTSB Responses ​​

• Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Final Rule, “Use of the 5.850-5.925 GHz Band” Published at ​85 Federal Register 6841 on February 6, 2020
• NTSB Letter to Rules Docket No. 19-138; FCC 19-129; FRS 16447, published at 85 Federal Register 6841 on February 6, 2020
  
• NTSB letter to Rules Docket No. DOT-OST-2018-0210, March 11, 2019, in response to Notice of Request for Comment, “V2X Communications,” published at 83 Federal Register 246, December 26, 2018
  
• NTSB letter to Rules Docket No. NHTSA-2016-0126, March 29, 2017, in response to Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), “Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS): V2V Communications,” published at 82 Federal Register (FR) 3854, January 12, 2017
• NTSB letter to Rules Docket No. NHTSA-2014-0022, October 16, 2014, in response to ANPRM “Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards: Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) Communications,” published at 79 FR 161, August 20, 2014​

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