USDOT Releases Plan to Accelerate V2X Deployment

On August 16, 2024, the U.S. Department of Transportation (the "USDOT") announced the Saving Lives with Connectivity: A Plan to Accelerate V2X Deploymentplan (the "Plan"). The Plan is intended to "accelerate the deployment" of vehicle-to-everything ("V2X") technology and support USDOT's goal of establishing a comprehensive approach to roadway fatality reduction. The Plan states that USDOT is "pursuing a comprehensive approach to reduce the number of roadway fatalities to the only acceptable number: zero."

The Plan describes V2X technology as technology that "enables vehicles to communicate with each other, with road users such as pedestrians, cyclists, individuals with disabilities, and other vulnerable road users, and with roadside infrastructure, through wirelessly exchanged messages." Such messages may contain information about vehicles' location and actions and traffic conditions like weather, pavement conditions, work zones, and more. The Plan notes that currently deployed V2X technology has already demonstrated safety benefits on a small scale and calls for expanded deployment of such technology.

In a press release accompanying the Plan, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said, "The Department has reached a key milestone today in laying out a national plan for the transportation industry that has the power to save lives and transform the way we travel … The Department recognizes the potential safety benefits of V2X, and this plan will move us closer to nationwide adoption of this technology."

The Plan's key points are summarized below:

• Mission: The Plan states that its mission is to "[a]ccelerate the deployment of secure, interoperable V2X connectivity…through collaboration across the federal government, public sector, and private industry."
• Goals and Targets: The Plan lays out short-, medium-, and long-term goals covering the next twelve years.
  • The short-term goals, intended to be addressed by 2028, include deploying V2X technology across 20% of the National Highway System and enabling V2X technology in 25% of the top 75 metro areas' signalized intersections. The short term goals also establish initial steps for establishing spectrum commitment, interoperability standards, and programs for technical assistance.
  • The medium term goals, intended to be addressed between 2029 and 2031, include increasing the coverage of both the National Highway System and top 75 metro areas' signalized intersections to 50%, finalizing spectrum rules and provisions with the Federal Communications Commission, and further progress on interoperability standards and technical assistance plans.
  • The long-term goals, intended to be addressed between 2032 and 2036, include further increases to coverage numbers, use cases across broader parts of the spectrum, expanded interoperability use cases, and more.
• Secure Deployment: The Plan notes that successful V2X deployment requires "cyber resilience" to ensure that communications services remain available and that users trust the technology. The Plan advocates for "secure by design" principles, meaning that cyber and privacy risks should be considered from the outset when developing and deploying V2X technology. The Plan references the USDOT's ITS Cybersecurity Research Program's resources for guidance on implementing cybersecurity and privacy principles in a clear and practical way.
• Interoperable Deployment: The Plan states that interoperability - or the ability for a range of mobile, in-vehicle, and roadside devices to communicate with each other - is "crucial" to the V2X vision. The Plan notes that the USDOT's standards and architecture includes the National ITS Reference Architecture, which provides a framework for safe, secure, and effective interoperable systems. The Plan states that the USDOT is committed to defining and demonstrating V2X interoperability testing procedures.
• Benefits and Challenges: The Plan states that the benefits of V2X technology have been "widely documented," including NHTSA estimates about the ability of vehicle-to-vehicle technology (a subset of V2X technology) to prevent crashes and save lives. The plan also cites studies showing that the technology prevented crashes and can reduce CO2 emissions. However, the Plan notes that V2X technology faces challenges related to spectrum use, private industry participation, public agency capacity and funding, and the ability to document benefits from near term deployments.

As next steps, the USDOT plans to coordinate resources from across federal agencies, including the Federal Highway Administration, the Intelligent Transportation Systems Joint Programing Office, the Federal Transit Administration, and others to support government deployment of V2X technology. The Plan also states that the USDOT will develop V2X technical assistance and supporting documentation to assist deployers like original equipment manufacturers and infrastructure owner-operators.