Cellular Vehicular to Everything (C-V2X) technology, discussed at STN EXPO Reno in 2022, made its way to national news as classes have started up nationwide.
Federal data states that the safest way to transport students to and from school is via school buses. However, getting on and off those buses can pose serious risks to children due to the number of passing motorists who fail to stop when a school with its stop arm extended and red lights flashing is loading and unloading.
The Today Show on Friday noted that the new high-tech solution aims to make it safer for students as they board or unload from the bus. C-V2X enables school buses to communicate directly with cars and trucks around it, granted those vehicles are equipped with the same technology.
Dozens of automakers including Audi, which demonstrated how the technology works on Friday’s segment, as well as Ford, Hyundai and Volvo are developing C-V2X services. Verizon is among the cellular carriers working on C-V2X, and school bus manufacturers Blue Bird and IC Bus are also testing the technology that communicates with passing vehicles by alerting the school bus driver that a passenger vehicle is not slowing down and that children should not be let off the bus.
The Federal Communications Commission in 1999 began freeing up space on the broadband spectrum for such services, which could also be transmitted from emergency vehicles and can extend to setting priority for lighted intersections as well as warning of upcoming construction zones or bicycle and pedestrian traffic.
The school bus alerts notify the bus driver how fast another vehicle is approaching the bus stop, how close it is to the bus, and from which direction the vehicle is coming from, said Justinav Morosin, vice president and general manager of IC Bus during the Today segment.
Additionally, those passenger vehicles equipped with the C-V2X, in the case of the Today demo an Audi E-Tron) will also receive alerts. If the motorist cannot see the bus for any reason, a warning flashes on the dashboard to alert them that a school bus is ahead with its stop sign extended.
Read more about the technology in the May 2023 issue of School Transportation News.
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