Members of the Cooperative Automated Transportation Coalition Infrastructure-Industry (CAT I-I) Working Group shared recently that they are assembling a primer with acronyms and definitions for autonomous vehicle (AV) and connected vehicle (CV) infrastructure and technology.

The primer is not the first of its kind but intended to “bridge the gap” between Infrastructure Owner-Operators (IOOs) and Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) practitioners, according to the CAT I-I working group members.

The working group's recent meeting also included presentations by Ted Hamer, managing director at KPMG Corporate Finance, and Paul Carlson, chief technology officer at Road Infrastructure Inc.

Automated vehicles will be mainstream in the next decade, members of an Innovation Panel predicted today during the first general session of ATSSA’s 51^st Annual Convention & Traffic Expo.

Timothy Drake, vice president of public policy and regulatory affairs at ITS America, said he expected trucking fleets and public transportation would be the first to take that step and be in place in the 2030s. With that in mind, he said planning needs to take place now within jurisdictions across the country and state departments of transportation (DOTs).

Nazila Roofigari-Esfahan, an assistant professor at Virginia Tech, agreed with Drake but said she hoped it wouldn’t take place before people are ready for it. She said both infrastructure and individuals need to be prepared for that shift in transportation.

The Innovation Panel was one part of today’s general session at ATSSA’s 2021 Convention & Traffic Expo. The session kicked off with a welcome from Board Chair Greg Driskell and the State of the Association Report by ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner. That was followed by a State of the Industry panel and announcement of two industry awards.

Join the discussion on various aspects of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways (MUTCD) during week two of ATSSA’s 51^st Annual Convention & Traffic Expo.

The discussions are hosted by ATSSA and take place within the Conversation Lounge of the Convention’s online platform. Check out the topics you want to be part of and join the conversation. Participation is free for everyone registered for the Convention.

Sessions run Tuesday through Thursday next week and cover nine topics.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has extended the time for public comment to May 14 for the first comprehensive update to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways (MUTCD) in more than a decade.

The document opened for public comment on Dec. 14 as originally reported here and was originally to allow comments through March 15.

The Notice of Proposed Amendments for the 11^th edition of the MUTCD contains more than 600 proposed changes, according to a statement from the FHWA.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted unanimously today to reallocate more than half of the 5.9GHz spectrum band—known as the “safety spectrum”—to unlicensed uses including WiFi.

The new rules adopted today make the lower 45 megahertz of the spectrum available for unlicensed uses. They require Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) licensees to stop using this portion of the spectrum within a year.

ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner called the action "a major blow to the roadway safety community and public safety in general."