WASHINGTON (June 29, 2015) — “Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) Communications and Connected Roadways of the Future” was the topic of a June 24 hearing before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade under the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Members of the subcommittee said they are following the V2V issue closely, with special attention to V2V rulemaking currently within the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
“While the progress and potential of this technology are clear, we in Congress must continue to ensure proper oversight at NHTSA moves aggressively toward its goal of finalizing its V2V rulemaking by the end of this year,” said Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., the subcommittee's ranking minority member.
“While pushing for V2V-enabled cars, NHTSA must also ensure drivers have the most beneficial crash avoidance and crashworthiness technologies in all cars, not just those supported by V2V communications,” Rep. Pallone said.
Among the witnesses at the hearing were Nathaniel Beuse, NHTSA associate administrator of vehicle safety research; Peter Sweatman, director of the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute; and Harry Lightsey, executive director of Global Connected Customer Experience for General Motors L.L.C.
In his testimony, Mr. Lightsey noted that NHTSA estimates V2V could prevent more than 80 percent of the annual four million-plus unimpaired light vehicle crashes in the U.S. and reduce the annual economic costs of vehicle crashes by $871 billion.
“V2V's effectiveness depends on it being deployed across all vehicle makes and models,” Mr. Lightsey said.
For more information on NHTSA's V2V rulemaking, click here.