A new coalition has been formed to promote safety features of connected cars, the Smart Transportation Innovation Coalition.
The group membership includes Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, Association of Global Automakers, Information Technology Industry Council, Intelligent Car Coalition, Intelligent Transportation Society America, Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association and the National Automobile Dealers Association.
The Alliance’s first move to raise awareness of smart transportation was to delivering a letter to Congress.
The organization notes that there many connected and autonomous vehicle technologies. There is also smart infrastructure, adaptive traffic signals, advanced traffic and freight management systems, real-time transit and parking technologies, integrated payment platforms, mobile phone apps and on-demand services.
They would like Congress to accelerate the deployment of existing and future connected smart vehicle technologies.
Smart transport technologies the organization supports includes:
- Automatic braking, helping to mitigate injuries on our roads and rear end collisions.
- Blind-spot monitoring.
- Road-side transmitters alert cars to weather conditions.
- Internet connectivity in cars for better routing of traffic.
- Over-the-air software updates and new diagnostic technology.
- Smart cities with smart parking.
- Intelligent transportation systems.
- Self-driving functions help the elderly to keep mobile – and safe.
- New transportation technologies.
The alliance supports research and incentives where appropriate to promote advanced safety and vehicle connectivity technologies, including advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), V2X communications, autonomous vehicles and other technologies.
The letter points out that for the United States to stay competitive, it is critical that our nation invest more heavily in transportation research, technology and innovation.
The alliance asked Congress to work together to build a safer, smarter, more efficient and sustainable transportation future.