The Realizability of the Potential Benefits of Intelligent Vehicle‐highway Systems

Intelligent vehicle‐highway systems (IVHS) combine computing, sensors and telecom‐munications to deliver a more effective road/vehicle system for freight and passenger vehicles. Many of these technologies involve surveillance of the location and behaviour of identified vehicles and/or people, and the collation of such data for further use. These and other aspects of IVHS technologies raise concerns among the community, and have delayed the adoption of some systems. Outlines IVHS systems, and considers strategies for their introduction. The ownership and use of data collected in the course of IVHS operations is shown to present opportunities relating to revenue‐collection and law‐enforcement, on the one hand, and public acceptability problems, on the other. There are growing links with large‐scale data transmission facilities such as the US National Information Initiative (NII) and the equivalent massive interactive data networks developing elsewhere. Major errors in the implementation of early elements of IVHS may make it extremely difficult to deploy further elements. Argues that adoption of a number of principles could safeguard the potential benefits at an acceptable social cost.