The Promise of Technology: VII Is a Win-Win Situation for Everyone

While Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII) has experienced widespread adoption on a theoretical level among transportation engineers, this article explains some of the contingencies in converting this model into real transportation situations. Using Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) as standardized by IEEE for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-roadside communication, VII should rapidly extend and expand the amount of information available for transportation logistics. It is explained that vehicles can easily communicate road conditions, such as heavy traffic or inclement weather, to other oncoming vehicles on the same roadway. The authors, however, note that field-operational deployment testing of VII-equipped vehicles will occur next year and that only upon this test will the practical efficacy for public safety, public fleets, traveler information, and transportation logistics of VII be able to be assessed.