Skip to content
Mead & Hunt Site Logo
  • Markets
    • Aviation
    • Cultural Resources
    • Education
    • Federal
    • Food & Beverage
    • Justice
    • State & Local
    • Transportation
    • Water
  • Services
    • Architecture & Interiors
    • Construction Services
    • Engineering
    • Environmental
    • Planning
    • Sustainability & Resilience
    • Technology
  • Portfolio
  • News
  • About
    • Purpose & Values
    • Meet Our Team
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Locations
    • Our History
    • Events
  • Careers
    • Career Opportunities
    • Why Work Here?
    • Scholarship Opportunities
Menu
  • Markets
    • Aviation
    • Cultural Resources
    • Education
    • Federal
    • Food & Beverage
    • Justice
    • State & Local
    • Transportation
    • Water
  • Services
    • Architecture & Interiors
    • Construction Services
    • Engineering
    • Environmental
    • Planning
    • Sustainability & Resilience
    • Technology
  • Portfolio
  • News
  • About
    • Purpose & Values
    • Meet Our Team
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Locations
    • Our History
    • Events
  • Careers
    • Career Opportunities
    • Why Work Here?
    • Scholarship Opportunities
Mead & Hunt Site Logo
  • Markets
    • Aviation
    • Cultural Resources
    • Education
    • Federal
    • Food & Beverage
    • Justice
    • State & Local
    • Transportation
    • Water
  • Services
    • Architecture & Interiors
    • Construction Services
    • Engineering
    • Environmental
    • Planning
    • Sustainability & Resilience
    • Technology
  • Portfolio
  • News
  • About
    • Purpose & Values
    • Meet Our Team
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Locations
    • Our History
    • Events
  • Careers
    • Career Opportunities
    • Why Work Here?
    • Scholarship Opportunities
Menu
  • Markets
    • Aviation
    • Cultural Resources
    • Education
    • Federal
    • Food & Beverage
    • Justice
    • State & Local
    • Transportation
    • Water
  • Services
    • Architecture & Interiors
    • Construction Services
    • Engineering
    • Environmental
    • Planning
    • Sustainability & Resilience
    • Technology
  • Portfolio
  • News
  • About
    • Purpose & Values
    • Meet Our Team
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Locations
    • Our History
    • Events
  • Careers
    • Career Opportunities
    • Why Work Here?
    • Scholarship Opportunities

Connected and autonomous vehicles are the future—how can you prepare?

  • January 17, 2020
Share on LinkedIn
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on Email
Aerial of CAVs driving on highway

Over 35,000 people in the US die each year in motor vehicle crashes. 94% are caused by human error. Connected and autonomous vehicle (CAV) technology promises to fix this—but a safe and reliable wireless communication spectrum must exist for this to occur.

There is a reserved spectrum for this purpose: the 5.9 GHz wireless spectrum for transportation safety will carry short-range, high speed messages between CAV and infrastructure. It’s commonly referred to as V2X (vehicle to everything, including other vehicles, pedestrians and infrastructure). This spectrum is critical to realizing the holy grail safety and mobility benefits of CAV, and therefore implementing CAV on a large scale.

Change is never easy

However, there is now an intense debate between primarily the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and United States Department of Transportation (USDOT), among other entities. FCC’s plan is to divide the spectrum for CAV and give some of it to Wi-Fi. USDOT and others are against the plan, stating that research data shows dividing the spectrum is a compromise that won’t work.

This uncertainty over the spectrum has vehicle manufacturers waiting to commit to building their cars as standard with connected vehicle technology. And as with all public debates, there’s more to it than just the spectrum. The CAV communication technology itself is up for debate as well.

So what should infrastructure owners and operators (IOO) do? Wait and see what unfolds? Surge ahead as quickly as possible? There are no easy answers here; both approaches have pros and cons. Waiting means it will take longer to see benefits, but you can avoid wasting money as the technology changes and matures. If you decide to surge ahead, you’ll be one of the first to realize the lifesaving crash reduction benefits… but they don’t call it the “bleeding edge” for nothing. It will cost you some extra blood, sweat, and tears.

In the midst of all the uncertainty, one thing is certain: CAV technology is the future. There are some simple things you can do right now to prepare.

  • Start the planning process. Get some training and participate in professional organizations.
  • Work to create a secure, reliable, high bandwidth communications infrastructure for your signals and ITS devices. Most of the infrastructure that will talk to CAVs will be traffic signals, so this is a great place to start.
  • Speaking of traffic signals, upgrade your controller hardware and firmware so that it can talk to cars.
  • Pilot a project to get some experience with the technology, maintenance, data management and cybersecurity needs that come with CAV.

These items alone may take years to tackle. Eventually the government will make a decision, and when that happens, car manufacturers will be creating connected cars at a rapid pace. Considering even a small amount of connected cars on the road can make a profound positive impact, starting sooner rather than later is the way to go. Our team is committed to staying abreast of the latest developments in this area—the safety of our communities is always at the forefront.

Keith Riniker headshot

Keith Riniker, PE, PTOE

Keith is a leading Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and traffic engineer serving the mid-Atlantic region. He strives to provide traffic solutions that enhance the quality of life of the communities he serves. Outside of the world of transportation, Keith enjoys playing basketball, reading, and spending time with his wife and three sons.

Linkedin Envelope
PrevPrevious
NextNext

Most Popular

Reducing Delay for Nonmotorized Users – NCHRP Report 969 in Practice: Part 2
August 9, 2022
Equity, Economics, and Evolution: The Case for Revamping FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program
August 2, 2022
For successful historic bridge inventories, planning ahead is key
July 28, 2022
Improve Wastewater Throughput, Efficiency, and Reliability with a Cloth Filtration Retrofit
July 26, 2022

Main Menu

  • Home
  • Markets
  • Services
  • Portfolio
  • News
  • About
  • Careers
Menu
  • Home
  • Markets
  • Services
  • Portfolio
  • News
  • About
  • Careers

Useful Links

  • Ebids
  • Equipment & Parts
  • GSA Schedules Program
  • U.S. Government Contract Vehicles
  • Policy for Third-Party Recruiters
  • Transparency in Coverage
Menu
  • Ebids
  • Equipment & Parts
  • GSA Schedules Program
  • U.S. Government Contract Vehicles
  • Policy for Third-Party Recruiters
  • Transparency in Coverage

Get in touch

  • Apply Today
  • Contact Us
  • Locations
  • Title VI
Menu
  • Apply Today
  • Contact Us
  • Locations
  • Title VI

Connect with us

Linkedin Facebook Twitter Instagram Vimeo

© 2022 Mead & Hunt, Inc. All rights reserved.

  • Privacy & CCPA Policy
  • Do Not Sell
  • Site Map
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Read full privacy policy
ACCEPTREJECTSETTINGS
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo