“I have two kids and I need my car to drive them to and from school and bring them to their sports activities and music lessons after school. One thing that really concerns me is traffic at intersections--I often see people going through red lights and failing to stop at stop signs. Will connected vehicles help keep my family safe as I drive through busy intersections?”

Here's how Connected Vehicle technology will benefit you:
A lot of work is being done in this area as crashes at intersections represent more than a quarter of all crashes, according to NHTSA. One connected vehicle application known as Intersection Movement Assist (IMA) has the potential to offer significant safety benefits. It would warn you that it is not safe to enter an intersection when there is a high probability of colliding with one or more vehicles. The application can warn you not only when another vehicle is about to violate a red light or stop sign, but also in situations at “blind” intersections where you can't see oncoming traffic because a delivery truck parked on the corner or some other obstruction is blocking your view. NHTSA estimates that IMA could help drivers avoid 41 to 55 percent of intersection crashes.

Another application called Left-Turn Assist (LTA) would inform you when it is unsafe to start making a turn in front of another vehicle traveling in the opposite direction. NHTSA says this application would prevent 36 to 62 percent of left-turn crashes.

Taken together, NHTSA estimates that IMA and LTA would prevent between 413,000 and 592,000 crashes, save between 777 and 1,083 lives, and reduce 191,000 to 270,000 injuries.

“I know that I pay attention and obey the rules when I'm walking and trying to cross an intersection, but what about cars and other vehicles on the road? When I'm entering a crosswalk on foot does the driver turning into the intersection know I'm there? The most important thing to me as a pedestrian is detection--I need to know that I'll be safe trying to cross the street.”

Here's how Connected Vehicle technology will benefit you:
Connected vehicle safety applications will give drivers 360-degree awareness of the driving situation around them. Through in-car warnings, drivers will be alerted to your presence as you are about to enter or are already in a crosswalk. By communicating with roadside infrastructure, drivers will also be alerted if the light at an upcoming crosswalk is about to change. Using wireless signals, these technologies will give drivers the information they need to share the road safely with you when you're walking.

The technology can also alert you of potential hazardous situations at intersections via your mobile device, giving you the information you need to more safely cross the street.

“Taking care of the environment is important to me. And it carries over into my commuting choices. I'm interested in learning about technologies that can give me real-time information about my commute, information that tells me commuting options and lets me choose the transportation mode or route that has the slightest impact on the environment.”

Here's how Connected Vehicle technology will benefit you:
Before you head out to work on a “code red” air quality day, you will be able to check your computer, tablet, or smartphone and choose the least polluting travel route with the fewest stops and starts. You will get data on all the modes of transportation at one time. If you decide to drive and encounter increased pollution levels along your route, a special “eco traffic signal system” in your car may suggest that you adjust your speed to better time your arrival at traffic signals, resulting in fewer delays and reduced emissions. If your car detects a traffic jam ahead, it may recommend an alternate route that includes parking and public transportation. The in-vehicle equipment in your car will direct you to the nearest open parking spot and list all available public transportation options, including bus, subway, commuter rail, paratransit, ride sharing, and taxi. Thanks to a connected transportation system in constant communication, you will arrive at work knowing that your commute has had the smallest environmental impact possible.

“ Every work day, I take a bus and then a train to the office. It's important to me that I have control over my schedule and I'm kept informed when there are delays in service. As long as I have the option to keep informed during my commute, my day starts and ends on a good note.”

Here's how Connected Vehicle technology will benefit you:
As a bus or train commuter in today's fast-paced, connected environment, missing an important meeting because of a late connection would certainly derail the success of your day. With connected vehicle technology, you have access to up-to-the-minute information about the location, speed, and available capacity of your bus or train. Through a tap on a screen you can find out exactly what time the bus will arrive at your stop, allowing you to keep to your schedule and get on with the day.

Researchers are working on technologies that will give you even more detailed bus- and train-related information. Using a communications system called designated short range communications (DSRC), cars and trucks will be able to “talk” to buses and trains about conditions that may affect transit schedules, such as backups, work-zone detours, and weather-related delays. This detailed, specific information will be accessible on your computer, mobile phone, tablet, or other wireless device before you set out for the day, ensuring the most seamless commuting experience possible.

“My job requires me to put in long hours and I’m often on the road at all hours of the day and night. A lot of time is wasted waiting in long lines at freight facilities to pick up or deliver my loads. And many times after I make my deliveries, I end up going back with my truck empty. Will connected vehicles help me out with these problems?”

Here's how Connected Vehicle technology will benefit you:
A number of connected vehicle applications are being developed to handle these problems. Trucks waiting in queues results in excessive idling, reduces drivers' productivity, burns fuel, and increases emissions. One connected vehicle application would reduce your wait time by assigning a specific time window to pick up or drop off your load at a freight facility. If a truck ahead of you on the schedule is running late and you're running ahead of schedule, you could be assigned the empty time slot. If you're running behind, another truck waiting at the facility might be given your time slot and you would be assigned one closer to the time you are expected to arrive.

Another solution called a load-matching application would use information posted on a web forum by shippers and receivers to let empty trucks know of loads nearby that they could transport on the way back to their point of origin. This would allow you to reduce the number of empty and unproductive hauls you make every day.

“My job is to respond to roadway emergencies. The more information I have about a crash or emergency before I arrive at the scene, generally the better the outcomes. I can get victims transported to the hospital quicker by setting up the incident zone faster and directing traffic to alternate routes so other responders and law enforcement have clear paths to the accident scene. Pre-arrival information is everything in my book. Problem is, I don't always get the information I need.”

Here's how Connected Vehicle technology will benefit you:
Pre-arrival, situational awareness about an incident is critical to public safety responder decisions about vehicle routing, staging, and secondary dispatch decisions. The Connected Vehicle Research Program is researching a number of Response, Emergency Staging and Communications, Unifo rm Management, and Evacuation (R.E.S.C.U.M.E.) applications that improve the safety of emergency responders and travelers. For example, the Incident Scene Pre-Arrival Staging Guidance for Emergency Responders (RESP-STG) application provides still or video images of an incident scene, surrounding terrain, and traffic conditions to public safety responders and dispatchers. This application can also help establish incident work zones that are safer for responders, crash victims, and nearby travelers. There are additional R.E.S.C.U.M.E. applications being researched and tested that will improve the quality of information and the ability of emergency responders to access it.