You’ve heard of disruptive technology—the car, the cellphone, streaming services—some of the most commonplace items in our daily lives were innovations that completely transformed their industries. And while no one has a crystal ball, it is widely agreed upon that there will come a day when connected vehicles (CVs) will turn the transportation industry on its head. Is your city ready?

For years connected vehicles have been a hot topic of conversation in the industry. With the potential to dramatically increase safety through reduced collisions, better data and quicker emergency responses, it’s an innovation that many have eagerly awaited. But it’s faced its fair share of challenges over the last decade—most recently and notably the global semiconductors chip shortage of 2021, which impacted CVs as car makers were unable to meet increased vehicle demands.

Despite bumps in the road, however, connected cars are still the future. According to Statista, it’s projected that by 2025 there will be over 400 million connected cars in operation. And getting more CVs on the road and more CV programs in place is a worthy goal, as experts believe that at peak participation, we could end up seeing up to an 80% reduction in collisions at intersections.

This year has seen significant movement towards connected roadways.

In April, three Federal Communications Commission (FCC) bureaus (including the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, the Office of Engineering and Technology, and the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau) granted a request for a waiver of certain FCC rules to permit deployment of cellular-vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) technology. ITS America then released a National V2X Deployment Plan, put together in collaboration with researchers, states, local agencies, and private companies with one goal in mind—to encourage the federal government and other stakeholders to ”move beyond years of inaction and install V2X systems for public safety”.

So, what can your city do to be ready for this next great safety innovation?

Invest now in the necessary design, real-time traffic analytics and technologies like V2X that will improve mobility and ready roadways for connected and automated vehicles. The broader the participation and faster the deployment, the sooner we can start seeing the projected safety benefits.

From specialized CAV consulting services to roadside units that support V2X applications, we have the expertise, solutions and partnerships to help transportation agencies and communities prepare for CVs. Find out more on our connected vehicle solutions page.