Dean Gustafson, PE, PTOE, Lochner’s National TSMO / ITS Practice Lead, recently participated in a roundtable discussion sponsored by the Alliance to Save Energy to discuss policy recommendations needed to advance the deployment of connected and automated vehicles (CAV). Dean was asked to share his perspective on key elements public sector agencies and the engineering consultant community need to effectively deploy CAV. During the discussion, Dean stressed the importance of developing an inspirational vision to drive investment in transportation technology, growing our economy, making the U.S. a global transportation leader, and improving safety, mobility, and quality of life for Americans. The discussion also covered the need for data sharing between agencies related to signals, work zones, and transportation systems to make CAVs possible; overall infrastructure conditions needed to safely deploy CAVs; development of defined roles and responsibilities for federal, state, and local clients and stakeholders to deploy and maintain infrastructure for CAVs; and general comfort level of the public with driverless vehicles or those with no passengers.
The roundtable discussion included Tom Byron, FDOT Deputy Secretary for Technology and Innovation, Mark Del Russo, Audi President, and representatives from ITS America, telecommunication owners, Microsoft, utility companies, and University of South Florida/Center for Transportation Research (CUTR). The group made recommendations for the development of policy statements to be presented to Congress for the reauthorization of the FAST Act.
Roundtable Group