« Back to Focus Areas

California Vehicle-Highway Cooperative Systems: Rural Fleet Application Case Study

Started: July, 2001 Ended: December, 2003 Project ID #426067 Status: Completed

Objective

This project will develop a blueprint for building a prototype rural Vehicle-Highway Cooperative System in northern California.

Abstract

The intent of the Rural Fleet Application Case Study is to recommend applications and consider implications of Vehicle-Highway Cooperative Systems in a rural environment. The research will develop the plan for applying advanced technology solutions that will assist fleet operations and would ultimately increase safety and improve operations of the transportation system in northern California. The study area for this project consists of Caltrans Districts 1 and 2, which make up the California portion of the California Oregon Advanced Transportation Systems (COATS) project (see Figure 1). The research will examine principally applications for the two-lane rural highway (non-interstate) system. This project will provide the foundation for testing and deployment of Vehicle-Highway Cooperative Systems concepts in northern California. As it is difficult to initiate or influence the deployment of technologies on light duty passengers vehicles, the opportunities for research, development, testing and potential deployment lie in partnering with a fleet owner/operator and in developing infrastructure systems that complement emerging in-vehicle technologies. Examples of fleets include trucking, transit, law enforcement, and emergency vehicles as well as vehicles that operate and maintain utilities like power, communications, or transportation facilities (see Figure 2). This project may interact with emerging technologies such as in-vehicle traveler information. One challenge will be the ability to provide reliable, real-time highway related information such as weather forecast for the chosen route or roadway surface conditions.The vision for this Rural Fleet Application Case Study is to define a Vehicle-Highway Cooperative System that can evolve as the roadside and vehicle safety systems are implemented, communication coverage increases, fleet technology improvements migrate to a rural environment, and fleet managers understand the application of technology to their specific needs. This project will outline a Vehicle-Highway Cooperative System for spot application and information assistance. WTI will work with Caltrans and other stakeholders to identify technologies that exchange information between the vehicle and roadside infrastructure and may provide some level of assisted vehicle control. Researchers will review technologies that can be implemented in the near term, are beneficial in the rural environment, and can be implemented in a fleet of vehicles.

Contacts

Files & Documents

WordPress › Error

There has been a critical error on this website.

Learn more about troubleshooting WordPress.