U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced a series of steps to speed what are being called “life-saving technology innovations” to America’s highways at the Delphi Labs in Silicon Valley recently. He also pledged to work with the auto industry and technology companies to ensure that vehicle automation technologies with demonstrated safety benefits can come to market. Secretary Foxx was in California as part of his tour to highlight the nation’s third annual Infrastructure Week, which brings together thousands of stakeholders across the country to highlight the importance of investing in America’s infrastructure future.

“The Department wants to speed the nation toward an era when vehicle safety isn’t just about surviving crashes; it’s about avoiding them,” Secretary Foxx said. “Connected, automated vehicles that can sense the environment around them and communicate with other vehicles and with infrastructure have the potential to revolutionize road safety and save thousands of lives.”

The Department’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will move ahead of its public timetable for its proposal to require vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication devices in new vehicles, and work to accelerate testing necessary to ensure that V2V and vehicle-to-infrastructure transmissions are free from radio interference.

The steps Secretary Foxx announced include:

• Accelerating the schedule of NHTSA’s proposal to require V2V equipment on new vehicles
• Developing an expedited test plan on interference with V2V signals
• Ensuring that the Department’s regulatory framework accelerates safety innovations

Click here to find out more about Secretary Foxx’s announcement. To learn more about the study, visit www.dot.gov/BeyondTraffic.