Chapter 6: Conclusion
Since the passage of SAFETEA-LU in 2005, the ITS Program has implemented an aggressive research agenda designed to provide the Nation with proactive, innovative technology solutions to some of its most pressing transportation problems. The ITS research agenda has been significantly focused on facilitating the development of a connected, integrated transportation system that is information-intensive in order to better serve the interests of users, be responsive to the needs of travelers and system operators, and, above all, improve safety. As the research agenda aligns with the Department’s goals for safety, reduced congestion, and economic productivity, it has provided the Department with a focused means to advance technology applications for some of the most critical transportation problems facing the Nation.
The ITS Program has had a long and productive history in facilitating national research efforts to:
- Deliver new technology solutions through high-payoff research, conducted in partnership with industry and academia. The investments in ITS research have been targeted at solutions that, by their innovative nature, involve high levels of risk and funding. Typically these requirements are too much for any one entity to undertake alone. By structuring partnerships with stakeholders that have a critical interest in the outcome, funds have been well-leveraged across a variety of entities and a wider range of expertise, and perspective has been engaged that has allowed the research to be conducted efficiently and within tight time periods.
- Conduct real-world demonstrations to test system performance and capability. Through nearly 20 years of conducting tests and demonstrations, the ITS Program has developed a set of methodologies that allow for the identification of safety benefits and any unintended consequences. These results have ensured that the technology solutions delivered to the Nation are safe and effective.
- Perform rigorous evaluations that allow for the forecasting of benefits that the new technologies will deliver to the Nation. In addition to benefits, evaluations capture critical information on deployment experiences and highlight the lessons learned, best practices, and cost information that underpins the investment decision-making process at the State and local levels and helps ensure a robust and well-informed workforce.
- Facilitate the transfer of technology into the marketplace.
Previous reports to Congress and the 2006 Five-Year Plan73 document these efforts and chronicle the progress made in building upon past research to move forward in delivering new and innovative solutions. In the past two years, these efforts have continued. The ITS Program has produced research results that are substantial in number, scope, and significance. The 2008 research results provide insight into how ITS technology solutions are transforming transportation and providing benefits. They also help identify critical gaps that still exist and that require further research. Some of the most important results from the research of the last two years that have been delivered are as follows:
A fully connected, networked transportation environment that has the
potential to dramatically impact safety and mobility.
Results include the following:
- The VII research has resulted in the first-ever, fully connected transportation environment in which vehicles are integrated with other vehicles and with the infrastructure through leading-edge wireless communications solutions. This environment can enable the dynamic exchange of time-critical information on vehicle movements that can dramatically reduce crashes.
- New research on open platforms is identifying how the VII environment can be expanded to use a wider range of devices and communications technologies available on the market today. Migrating VII to an open platform will enable the delivery of important safety and mobility benefits for a broader segment of the Nation’s population. Such a move will enable industry to take advantage of emerging technologies. It will allow for integration of a wider array of technologies; it will allow the VII architecture to adapt as technologies evolve, ensuring that the VII network incorporates innovative approaches and applications over time; and it will ensure that VII benefits are not confined to those using a VII-equipped vehicle since this limits how and when significant safety and mobility benefits can be realized.
- More results are expected in the near future through:
- The final analysis of the VII proof-of-concept test results (2009).
- The SafeTrip-21 field-test evaluation (2010).
- The Vehicle Safety Communications—Applications (VSCA) tests on vehicle-to-vehicle capability (2010).
Promising new technology solutions in active crash avoidance.
Results include the following:
- The CICAS research has delivered a set of new technologies that can actively address crashes due to violations of traffic signals and stop signs and improper judgment in accepting a safe gap when turning into or across traffic. Working prototypes exist for the CICAS-Violation Warning System, the CICAS-Stop Sign Assist System, and the CICAS-Traffic Signal Adaptation System.
- The IVBSS research has advanced the state of the art in crash prevention through the integration of multiple autonomous crash warning systems. The resulting IVBSS system increases the situational awareness of roadway threats and hazards for both drivers and vehicles in relation to rear-end crashes, lane-change/merge crashes, and road-departure crashes. These three crash types account for 60 percent of police-reported crashes.
- More results are expected in the near future through:
- Final analysis of CICAS-V pilot test results (2009).
- Final analysis of CICAS-SSA pilot test results (2009).
- The IVBSS field operational tests (2010).
An information-intensive transportation world that better services travelers.
Results include the following:
- The EFM research has resulted in the nonproprietary, web-accessible integration of worldwide transportation logistics. The EFM system advances economic productivity by providing visibility into the movement of cargo through the supply chain in a manner that is less expensive, more accurate, highly reliable, and highly efficient.
- The Clarus research has resulted in a new system for providing clear, relevant information on roadway conditions to all transportation managers and users to alleviate the effects—fatalities, injuries, and delays—of adverse weather. By integrating weather sensor data owned by Federal, State, local, and private partners, the Clarus system leverages existing investments to provide near-real-time, quality-checked atmospheric and pavement observations that are specific to road segments and can be integrated into forecasts, traveler information, and road-maintenance operations.
- The ICM research is producing new strategies for enabling greater mobility along our Nation’s most critical corridors. Through the development of a new set of models, the integration of corridor-wide assets, and the generation of detailed data on system mobility, the transportation community is able, for the first time, to model the combinations of strategies that result in optimal corridor capacity, traffic flows, and management.
- The MSAA research is providing significantly greater efficiency and mobility in addressing the Nation’s needs in human services transportation. The development of the Travel Management Coordination Center (TMCC) concept is the technological foundation for enabling the "one call" vision that brings greater accessibility and coordination to human services transportation, and thereby greater mobility for the transportation disadvantaged as well as greater efficiencies in delivering these services.
- More results are expected in the near future through:
- EFM case studies on implementation and use of the EFM system (2009).
- The results of the Clarus multi-state regional demonstrations and transition to NOAA (2010).
- The results of the ICM AMS real-world tests and demonstrations (2009).
- Results of the MSAA model deployments and evaluations (2010).
A completed set of next generation technology solutions.
Results include the following:
- The NG9-1-1 research has provided the Nation with a design for a next-generation 9-1-1 system. The design overcomes many of the system and technology challenges faced by the existing system, given the significant changes in new, highly mobile, dynamic communications technologies. The research has also resulted in a greater understanding of the risks and challenges associated with transitioning from the current system. The NG9-1-1 design is complete and will transition to NHTSA for the next steps in nationwide deployment.
- The ETO research has resulted in the development of resources that address critical transportation roles, processes, and operations during emergencies and evaluations. The ETO research has resulted in the identification of the role of critical tools (such as effective modeling techniques) to enhance decision-making during emergencies. The ETO research is complete and all resources are available for use by State and local managers and decision-makers.
- Final results expected in the near future:
- NG9-1-1 final cost-benefit analysis, analysis of test results, and transition plan (December 2008)
As noted in the last plan, the Department recognizes that new challenges and priorities will emerge in the coming years that will require ITS to continue to play an important role. As has been proven over the last two years, the ITS Program has the flexibility to address high-priority issues as they emerge. Specifically, the ITS Program has been able to target its efforts and technology solutions on two of the Nation’s key challenges—congestion and rural safety— when the Department asked it to step up and collaborate with the modal administrations to bring about transformative change.
An important note is how Federal funding has leveraged much more investment by others. As documented in a new brochure from the ITS JPO titled, Intelligent Transportation Systems: A Summary of Progress and Results, ITS funding has been effectively leveraged to produce widespread deployment and delivery of benefits to the Nation. The brochure notes:
From 1991 to 2009, Congress provided the USDOT ITS Program with $3.45 billion in federal funding to research the application of advanced technologies to transportation and to facilitate the deployment of ITS across the nation. Although these funds represent less than 1 percent of the $746 billion budget allocated to USDOT during the same 19-year period, the ITS funds have produced an array of benefits for the nation’s transportation system, including important improvements in safety and mobility, reduced congestion, and enhanced productivity. With focused, targeted use of these funds, the relatively small federal investment has had a multiplier effect:
- State, local, and regional agencies have been incentivized to match federal funds with their own funding and to engage private-sector partners who offer matching funds.
- These leveraged funds have resulted in the widespread deployment and operational use of advanced technologies and systems across the nation.
- Increased deployment has led to exponential growth in benefits delivered to state, local, and regional agencies; travelers; and commercial entities.
In conclusion, the ITS Program has substantially addressed the requirements of SAFETEA-LU. Appendix D contains a table of ITS Program results compiled according to SAFETEA-LU requirements. It shows that the ITS Program has generated program activities that directly address the Congressional goals, purposes, and priorities set forth in SAFETEA-LU.
With the delivery of the 2006 Five-Year ITS Program Plan, the ITS JPO provided the Department with a vision for guiding transportation technology research and for addressing ITS needs of the Nation. This ITS Program Plan 2008 provides Congress with detail on the progress made since the last program plan and reports on the extensive research results that have been realized to date through the ITS Program. Looking forward, the ITS Program anticipates continued success in fulfilling its mission to provide the Nation with technology research, demonstrations, evaluations, and technology transfer that accelerates the adoption and use of ITS and improves safety for all.
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