ITS America CEO Shailen Bhatt describes preliminary estimates from the US National Safety Council (NSC) on roadway fatalities and crashes as "unnecessary and preventable".
At a time when traffic volume was down, 42,060 people died on US roads last year – an 8% increase from the previous year.
The fatality rate increased by 24%, which according to the NSC's calculations, is the highest increase in nearly 100 years.
Bhatt believes Vehicle to Everything (V2X) communication offers real hope of improvement in the near future.
In a robust statement he says: “ITS America has said repeatedly that V2X technologies are the best tool in our toolbox to dramatically reduce fatalities – they can prevent or mitigate up to 80% of non-impaired crashes according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.”
“We are on the cusp of wide-scale deployment of these life-saving technologies – without it, we will only make incremental improvements,” Bhatt continues.
“The FCC’s plan to give away a majority of the spectrum reserved for V2X technologies takes on even more importance in light of this staggering loss of life.”
