Intelligent Transportation Systems
What's New
New - Rural Safety Innovation Program
The goal of the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Rural Safety Innovation Program is to improve rural road safety by assisting rural communities in addressing highway safety problems and by providing rural communities the opportunity to compete for project funding to address these problems. The program will encourage States and rural communities to develop creative, locally crafted solutions to roadway safety problems, document their efforts and outcomes, and share the results with other communities across the country.
By providing technical assistance and best practice guidance from the program, DOT will give States and rural road owners better tools to improve road safety in their communities. The primary objectives of the Rural Safety Innovation Program are to:
- Improve safety on local and rural roads with innovative approaches in which rural communities develop and design local solutions to their roadway safety problems.
- Provide best practices and lessons learned on innovative safety technologies to assist local and rural road owners and operators in the development and implementation of infrastructure-based rural safety countermeasures that complement behavioral safety efforts.
- Promote national awareness and interest in addressing rural safety issues.
- Promote the use of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) technologies to improve safety on rural roads.
The US DOT Rural Safety Innovation Program funding proposal deadline was April 14, 2008. As part of the Rural Safety Initiative, and funded through the FHWA Office of Safety and ITS Joint Program Office, RITA, the program has received nearly 100 grant applications, representing proposed project locations in 27 different states. Proposals selected for funding will be announced by DOT in August 2008. For more information on this initiative, visit the Rural Intelligent Transportation Systems website.
US DOT Releases Next Generation 9-1-1 Preliminary Transition Guidelines
The U.S. Department of Transportation has released The Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) Preliminary Guidelines. This Preliminary Transition Plan is intended to help frame how the government and industry view the deployment of NG9-1-1 and the key decisions that might need to be made by each level of government and the private sector to make implementation a reality. Click here for a complete listing of the publications to date of the NG9-1-1 initiative, co-managed by the US DOT's ITS Joint Program Office, RITA and the EMS Office, NHTSA.
U.S. Department of Transportation Announces Partnerships for Next Generation 9-1-1- Initiative Proof of Concept
The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) has announced the selection of Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) to participate in the Proof of Concept (POC) portion of the Next Generation 9-1-1 project. The selected PSAPs are:
- City of Rochester – Emergency Communications Department, Rochester, NY
- King County E-911 System, Seattle, WA
- Metropolitan Emergency Services Board – Ramsey Co. Emergency Communications Center, St. Paul, MN
- State of Montana – Public Safety Services Bureau, Helena, MT
- State of Indiana - Office of State Treasurer, Indiana Wireless 911 Board
These PSAPs were selected from over 50 applicants, using objective criteria developed by the NG9-1-1 team. While the field included many impressive applicants, resulting in a very close competition, the NG9-1-1 Initiative is limited by funding and schedule, requiring the decision to limit participation. The U.S. DOT sincerely acknowledges and appreciates the willingness of all applicants to go "above and beyond" in offering to participate in the POC.
The objective of this Proof of Concept is to test specific requirements, selected from a prioritized list developed by the NG9-1-1 team with input from a variety of 9-1-1 stakeholders. The requirements document, along with all other documents produced by this project can be found on the NG9-1-1 Web site. The NG9-1-1 POC is expected to begin in April 2008 and will last approximately three to six months. Following completion, data gathered during the POC will be analyzed and used to revise the system architecture and complete the transition plan.
U.S. Department of Transportation Seeks Technology Solutions to Improve Safety and Reduce Congestion on Nation's Roadways
he U.S. Department of Transportation’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) today issued a request for information (RFI) to private industry, research organizations, and state and local governments seeking information about commercially available technology applications designed to fight congestion and improve the safety and performance of the nation’s transportation system.
After receiving input and ideas, RITA will identify technology applications and stakeholders interested in partnering with the Department on SafeTrip-21, a multi-application field test of safety and congestion-reducing technologies that will be launched at the 2008 Intelligent Transportation Systems World Congress in New York City and integrated into other test locations. SafeTrip-21 builds upon research into the use of information, navigation, and communications technologies to prevent accidents and alleviate congestion by providing drivers with real-time safety warnings, traffic and transit information, and advanced navigational tools.
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint Program Office (JPO)
The ITS Joint Program Office is responsible for coordinating US Department of Transportation multimodal ITS initiatives. The ITS JPO supports a variety of activities and programs across all modes and manages deployment support functions, such as Web site development and maintenance, outreach, program evaluation, training and the architecture and standards programs.
Next Generation 9-1-1 Initiative
Text, data, images, and video are increasingly common in personal communications and are critical to future transportation safety and mobility advances. However, the 9-1-1 system of the 1970s was created to transmit voice media only and was not designed to handle the challenges of multimedia communication in a wireless, mobile society.
The NG9-1-1 initiative will leverage the progress from the Secretary of Transportation’s Wireless E9-1-1 Initiative. The Next Generation 9-1-1 initiative will establish the foundation for public emergency services in this wireless environment and enable an enhanced 9-1-1 system compatible with any communications device.
The goal of the Next Generation 9-1-1 (NG9-1-1) initiative is to enable the transmission of voice, data, or video from different types of communication devices to the Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) and onto emergency responder networks. The initiative's three phases will:
- Engage stakeholders. Leverage Wireless E9-1-1 Initiative activities, ongoing work of other National and Federal 9-1-1 projects, and involve necessary stakeholders through a variety of outreach efforts.
- Establish the vision. Partner with public safety agencies and the telecommunications industry to achieve a concept of operations and user requirements for an Internet/multimedia-capable 9-1-1 system.
- Define the future. Define the system architecture and develop a transition plan that considers responsibilities, costs, schedule and benefits for deploying the NG9-1-1 System across the Nation.
The U.S. DOT NG9-1-1 Initiative is an R&D project funded by the ITS JPO. For further information on the NG9-1-1 Initiative, visit the NG9-1-1 website.
Highlights
New and Improved: ITS Applications Overview
The ITS Joint Program Office has announced an enhancement to the ITS Applications Overview website. For 176 ITS technologies, this website asks and answers pressing questions such as “What are the benefits?”, “What are the costs?”, and “How much is out there?” The question “Who at the U.S. DOT can I contact?” has now been added to this list. The new and improved website lists a core set of experts at the U.S. DOT in each of 176 distinct ITS technologies, along with the experts' area of specialization.
“Communicate Now! Real-Time Exchange Between Public Safety and Transportation” 
Emergencies demand effective communication of information between public safety and transportation agencies responding to any situation, but the absence of a uniform approach for data sharing remains a barrier. To fill this void, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Joint Program Office (JPO) is establishing a standards-based approach to critical information exchange through the Intelligent Transportation Systems and Public Safety Information Exchange Project. An informational brochure is available for download.
