The National Transportation Safety Board last week acknowledged a new plan from the U.S. Department of Transportation to deploy vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology across U.S. roads and highways. The NTSB says it has been advocating for the technology since 1995.
V2X relies on direct communication between vehicles and infrastructure to prevent crashes. The NTSB has a long history of advocating for collision warning technologies and V2X. Nearly 30 years ago, the NTSB asked the U.S. DOT to begin testing collision warning systems in commercial fleets.
In 2022, after a crash in which five people died and 50 were injured, NTSB asked the Transportation Department to develop a plan for nationwide deployment of V2X technology and resolve the current roadblocks to its deployment.
“This plan is a vital first step towards realizing the full lifesaving potential of this technology, which we’ve supported for decades,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said in a statement. “V2X can reverse the crisis on our roads and fundamentally transform our nation’s transportation landscape.”
The NTSB currently has 10 open recommendations related to V2X technologies and is reviewing the DOT plan to determine whether it would satisfy any of those recommendations.
“The USDOT’s V2X deployment plan is a crucial milestone to achieving nationwide V2X deployment, and I commend the USDOT, FHWA and ITS JPO for their leadership and commitment to this life saving technology, said Michael Graham, an NTSB board member who has championed the technology. “But this plan is not the finish line, it is a call to action. This plan demands action from automakers, suppliers, infrastructure owner operators and regulators to achieve the full life saving potential of V2X technology.”
