U.S. Department of Transportation Seeks Information on Enhancing Intersection Safety for Vulnerable Road Users

The U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) has released a Request for Information about “Enhancing the Safety of Vulnerable Road Users at Intersections”. The U.S. DOT seeks comments on adapting existing and emerging automation technologies to accelerate the development of real-time roadway intersection safety and warning systems for both drivers and vulnerable road users (VRUs). Comments are due by October 17, 2022.

Improving the safety of pedestrians, bicyclists, and other VRUs is of critical importance to achieving the objectives of the U.S. DOT’s National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS) and the U.S. DOT’s vision of zero fatalities and serious injuries across our transportation system. According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were 10,626 traffic fatalities in the United States at roadway intersections in 2020, including 1,674 pedestrian and 355 bicyclist fatalities.

Separately, considerable development efforts have been made into automation technologies over the past two decades, including in the areas of vehicle automation, machine vision, perception and sensing, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, sensor fusion, image and data analysis, artificial intelligence (AI), path planning, and real-time decision-making. The U.S. DOT seeks to use these technologies to improve roadway intersection safety for drivers and VRUs.

Respond to the Request for Information by October 17, 2022: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/09/16/2022-20188/enhancing-the-safety-of-vulnerable-road-users-at-intersections-request-for-information

9/23/22