Intelligent Transportation Systems

by Terrance Malkinson

“Together, the united forces of our communication and transportation systems are dynamic elements in the very name we bear — United States. Without them we would be a mere alliance of many separate parts.”

— Dwight D. Eisenhower, 22 February 1955

As early as the 1930s, U.S. leaders identified the need for the nation to construct transcontinental superhighways. Although all recognized how important this initiative was, several decades of political wrangling passed before leaders could agree on how to implement it. But then in 1956, the Federal-Aid Highway Act emerged from a House-Senate conference. The Senate and the House both approved the legislation on 26 June 1956.

President Eisenhower recognized the importance of America’s highways to the country’s future. And in honor of the pivotal role Eisenhower played in launching the program, President George Bush signed legislation in October 1990 that changed the name of the system to the “Dwight D. Eisenhower System of Interstate and Defense Highways.” Today, most agree that implementing this vision has benefited America.

Traffic Volume On the Rise

As the population continues to grow, the traffic volume on roads and highways is increasing. In turn, this increased traffic density is contributing to longer travel times, increased pollution and more accidents. More than 42,000 motorists are killed and 3.3 million are seriously injured each year on the nation’s highways. Congestion costs more than $67 billion annually in delays and excess fuel consumed (http://mobility.tamu.edu).

Mass transit systems alone cannot combat the congestion. An alternative that is quickly gaining attention is technology associated with Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), which integrate users, transportation systems and vehicles through state-of-the-art synergistic information and communications systems.

Many ITS designs, strategies and technologies have already been developed and new ones will emerge in the future, both in the United States and abroad. Briefly, ITS manages automated vehicles’ longitudinal and lateral movement. ITS systems sense information, analyze it, make computational decisions and return directions to an automated vehicle — a complex process, to be sure, but one that can provide the remedies the country needs to alleviate problems associated with traffic congestion.

ITS Promises Greater Efficiency

The vision for the future is to develop and implement a transportation system that will provide seamless, end-to-end, intermodal movement of people and freight. ITS can help accomplish this goal, and it would help the whole transportation system work more efficiently.

ITS systems will offer many benefits, including:

• Helping drivers maintain safe distances between vehicles, adjusting speed and location as necessary, and considering changing conditions such as weather, visibility, congestion, and other potential hazards

• Preparing for, preventing and responding to natural or man-made threats and disasters, and enhancing homeland security

• Helping move people and freight more efficiently by using the best combination of ship, truck, train and plane

• Reducing pollution and energy consumption by eliminating delays

• Creating jobs and facilitating economic growth

• Providing planners with information they can use to improve existing transportation corridors, and create new ones

• Playing a roll in developing and offering more effective emergency medical services

The ITS Players

The Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America, www.itsa.org), a not-for-profit organization established in 1991, coordinates ITS development and deployment in the United States. Membership embraces state, local and federal government agencies, as well as business, academic and public interest groups. In addition, the organization works closely with the U.S. Department of Transportation and publishes a wealth of information about ITS and the future of transportation on its website. Titles to note include:

• “National Intelligent Transportation Systems Program Plan: A Ten-Year Vision”
• “Delivering the Future of Transportation”
• “Homeland Security and ITS”
• “Intelligent Transportation Systems and the Future”
• “Recommendations for ITS Technology in Emergency Medical Services”

The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (www.house.gov/transportation) is another excellent source of up-to-the-minute information on hot issues and government policy related to ITS and transportation. On 20 March 2003, the House of Representatives submitted H.R. 156, a resolution on the seven goals and objectives of the ITS caucus. This resolution has been referred to the House committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

In addition, the IEEE Intelligent Transport Systems Council (www.ewh.ieee.org/tc/its) focuses on the experimental, theoretical and operational aspects of electrical and electronics engineering and information technology as applied to ITS. The IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems publishes cutting-edge ITS-related research.

Where is ITS Headed?

Through partnership between government, industry, academia and the public, and with leadership tenacity such as that shown by President Eisenhower, ITS technologies can create a sustainable transportation system that will move people and goods efficiently and safely while respecting the environment. If the country implements ITS technologies, it will be building on President Eisenhower’s vision, which keenly recognized transportation systems’ importance to the nation’s growth and development.

References and Further Reading

Bretz, E.A. Boston Builds a High-IQ Highway. IEEE Spectrum. 37(8): 47-52, 2000.

Dawe, C., and C. Rizos. Positioning Systems in Intelligent Transportation Systems. Artech House Publications. 1998. ISBN 0-89006-536-5.

Ioannou, P.A. editor. Automated Highway Systems. Plenum Press. 1997. ISBN 0-306-45469-6.

Jones, W.D. Keeping Cars from Crashing. IEEE Spectrum. 38(9): 40-45, 2001.

Parkes, A.M., and S. Franzen, editors. Driving Future Vehicles. Taylor and Francis Publishing. 1993. ISBN 0-7484-0042-7.

Ross, P. Top 10 Techno-Cool Cars. IEEE Spectrum. 40(2): 30-35, 2002.

Stough, R.R. editor. Intelligent Transport Systems: Cases and Policies. Edward Elgar Publishing. 2001. ISBN 1-84064-447-8.

Toy, C., K. Leung, L. Alvarez, and R. Horowitz. “Emergency Vehicle Maneuvers and Control Laws for Automated Highway Systems.” IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems. 3(2): 109-119, 2002.

Weingroff, R.F. “Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956: Creating the Interstate System.” U.S. Department of Transportation. 1996.

Young, D. Chairman. “Why America’s Highway Safety and Congestion Crisis Must be Addressed Immediately.” U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. www.house.gov/transportation/highway/crisis.html

Intelligent Transportation Systems: Research and Applications. Society of Automotive Engineers, Inc. SP 1467. 1999. ISBN 0-7680-0458-6.

 

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Terrance Malkinson is a proposal manager/documentation specialist; an elected Senator of the University of Calgary; international correspondent for IEEE-USA Today's Engineer; and editor of the IEEE Engineering Management Society Newsletter. Opinions expressed are the author's.