The House Rules Committee will hold its second meeting of the week today on the INVEST in America Act, the surface transportation reauthorization proposal that passed out of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee last month.

The meetings will determine which amendments that have been filed from members of the full House of Representativea are deemed germane, setting up a final vote on the House floor potentially as early as this week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has targeted passage prior to the July 4^th recess for months, and the actions by the Rules Committee should keep that timetable in play.

Out of the 261 amendments filed, ATSSA is very supportive of three.

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.

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."

Midyear Digital’s Opening General Session features a panel of national experts providing their “6:60:6 Predictions” for the roadway safety industry.

Panelists include Ken Simonson, chief economist, Associated General Contractors of America;  Jeff Davis, senior fellow and editor, Eno Transportation Weekly; and ​Hilary Cain, vice president, Technology, Innovation, and Mobility Policy, Alliance for Automotive Innovation.

Registration is now open for this fully virtual meeting.

ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner sent letters to Federal Communications Commission Chair Ajit Pai and U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao this week strongly endorsing the Alliance for Automotive Innovation’s letter committing to fully utilize the bands of spectrum allocated for transportation safety.

“The commitment undertaken by the Auto Innovators reflects a watershed moment for roadway safety. This letter demonstrates a unified industry committing substantial resources and support for Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X). This approach should dispel any notion that the industry will not deploy V2X or that the Safety Spectrum will not be used,” Tetschner wrote.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Office of Engineering and Technology granted a 21-day extension of the deadline for submitting replies to comments regarding a proposed rule change regarding the 5.9 GHz band, also commonly referred to as the "safety spectrum."

The new deadline of April 27 resulted from the extensive comments submitted and disruptions caused by COVID-19.

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. (Jan. 27, 2020) – The American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA), in partnership with the National Academy of Sciences’ Transportation Research Board (TRB), honored the winners of the Traffic Control Device Challenge (TCD Challenge) today during a ceremony at the Association’s 50^th Anniversary Convention & Traffic Expo. Engineering students from across the U.S. competed in the TCD Challenge, which was titled: “Connected and Autonomous Innovations for Improving Work Zone Safety.”

Work continues on incorporating traffic signals into the Association’s activities to advance roadway safety. In 2019, ATSSA formed a Traffic Signals Committee and new membership category during its Midyear Meeting to ensure that the Association is representing all sectors of the roadway safety infrastructure industry and areas related to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). It also will allow ATSSA to move forward with new partnerships with traffic signal installers and manufacturers.

The FCC voted unanimously today to allocate a portion of the 5.9 GHz band to a 45 MHz sub-band that supports unlicensed uses like WiFi. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and commissioners Michael O'Rielly, Brendan Carr, Jessica Rosenworcel, and Geoffrey Starks all were in favor of the redistribution during an open meeting at the group’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.

For many departments of transportation (DOTs), the collection and sending of real-time traffic data to roadway users is high priority. One way agencies nationwide are achieving this goal is through the use of sensor technology in roadway infrastructure, such as pavement markings or signs, allowing them to strengthen Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) communication.