Legislation would improve vehicle-to-infrastructure technology safety

U.S. Sens. Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Gary Peters (D-MI) introduced a bill on Wednesday to increase the investments for vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication technology in order to reduce accidents, increase overall vehicle safety and avoid traffic congestion.

The  Vehicle-to-Infrastructure Safety Technology Investment Flexibility Act of 2015 will give states the authority to allocate existing surface and highway transportation funding from the Surface Transportation Program (STP), the National Highway Performance Program (NHPP) and the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) in order to further invest in future V2I projects.

V2I technologies enable operational and critical safety information to be exchanged through wireless connections between infrastructure and vehicles. Analysts estimate that this technology will help to relieve traffic congestion, prevent collisions and decrease the amount of energy unnecessarily consumed.

Some examples of V2I are monitors on bridges to show ice accumulation to approaching drivers, sensors to warn drivers about work zones and emergency vehicles, and traffic signals that will warn drivers about stopped traffic ahead.

“Vehicle-to-infrastructure wireless technology enables vehicles to communicate with each other and the world around them, helping to improve safety, prevent car accidents and relieve traffic,” Blunt said. “I’m pleased to join my colleagues on this bipartisan bill that would allow states to use existing funds to invest in new critical technologies to improve vehicle safety.”