Research

DOT-Sponsored Research Activities

V2V Communications for Safety

Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communications is a dynamic wireless exchange of data among vehicles that are traveling in the same vicinity, which offers opportunities for significant safety improvements.

The vision for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT’s) V2V Communications for Safety Research Program is that all each vehicle on the roadway (including automobiles, trucks, transit vehicles, and motorcycles) will be able to communicate with other vehicles, and that this rich set of data and communications will support a new generation of active safety applications and systems.

Research Plan

The four major objectives of the V2V safety research program are:

  1. Develop V2V active safety applications that address the most critical crash scenarios (listed below in Track 4).
  2. Develop a rigorous estimation of safety benefits and an assessment of potential regulatory action by NHTSA by 2013.
  3. Work with industry and enable market factors that will accelerate V2V benefits through in-vehicle V2V technologies and through the use of aftermarket and/or retrofit options to ensure that the first V2V-equipped vehicle owners find value in their investment.
  4. Building from the results of the VII program’s proof-of-concept tests, complete the development and testing of the V2V communications technologies and standards.

The V2V research program incorporates a collaborative research process that engages the appropriate stakeholders in a multi-track program to address the breadth of technical and non-technical V2V research needs.

Track 1 – Identify critical crash scenarios for V2V. By connecting pre-crash scenarios to crash avoidance safety applications, initial benchmarks for safety application function, performance, and effectiveness will be developed.

Track 2 – Ensure interoperability and determine supporting infrastructure needs for V2V deployment. Safety applications must work on all types of equipped vehicles, and adhere to communication standards to ensure security and message integrity.

Track 3 – Develop rigorous estimates of safety benefits. The development of performance measures, objective test procedures, and an adaptation of Advanced Crash Avoidance Technologies (ACAT) will assist in validating safety benefits.

Track 4 – Develop prototype active safety applications and evaluate through objective tests and field trials. Currently under development are applications for: Emergency Brake Light Warning, Forward Collision Warning, Intersection Movement Assist, Blind Spot and Lane Change Warning, Do Not Pass Warning, and Control Loss Warning. The development of these applications is dependent upon and assists in the analysis of the functional and performance requirements for the underlying technologies, such as positioning and communications. However, additional work needs to be conducted to address more complex crash scenarios for head-on collision avoidance, for intersection collision avoidance,for pedestrian crash warning and for extending the capabilities to prevent motorcycle crashes. An additional effort under this track will be the cooperative research and development of one safety application
with partners in the European Union.

Track 5 – Develop effective driver vehicle interfaces. Collision warning system effectiveness relies on the quality of its interface, which can affect the driver’s performance.

Track 6 – Investigate policy issues and formulate regulatory decisions within the context of the broader IntelliDriveSM program.

Track 7 – Develop Commercial Vehicle Safety Applications. Develop and evaluate V2V safety applications that incorporate the unique needs and vehicle dynamics of large trucks and motor coaches, since a collision with a vehicle in transport was the first harmful event in 75 percent of all fatal crashes involving large trucks. Other applications for commercial vehicle operators will also be evaluated.

Track 8 – Develop Transit Safety Applications. The ability to transition automobile safety applications to transit vehicles has the potential to provide positive impacts to the transit industry.

DOT is working with stakeholder groups to refine the research program, review interim results, and define effective technology transfer opportunities.

Research Goals
  • To employ advanced V2V wireless technologies to reduce, mitigate, or prevent 82 percent of crashes by unimpaired drivers.
  • To establish robust DSRC standards for safety-critical applications.
  • To accelerate in-vehicle technology to ensure value to the first V2V vehicles.
Research Questions
  • Are applications effective and are benefits validated?
  • What infrastructure is needed? How much, where, when, and what type?
  • What is the degree of market penetration needed?
  • What is the required timing for effectiveness?
  • What existing technologies can be leveraged to accelerate in-vehicle equipment?
  • What are the special needs and applications for trucks, motor coaches, and transit vehicles?
Research Outcomes

The planned outcome of this research is to document and validate potential benefits of V2V technologies, and to develop the factual evidence needed to support DOT decisionmaking regarding a potential NHTSA rulemaking.