Connected and Automated Vehicle Policy Development for California

Status

Complete

Project Timeline

August 1, 2016 - July 31, 2017

Principal Investigator

Project Team

Xiao-Yun Lu, Wei-Bin Zhang, Ching-Yao Chan, Thomas West, Benjamin McKeever

Project Summary

Connected and automated vehicles (CAV) have the potential to confer large benefits to California in economic development (job creation) and in improving the operation of its road transportation network. CAV systems are likely to become one of the most important application domains for modern information technology, employing large numbers of highly skilled people in research, development and implementation wherever the companies that are developing these systems find the local environment
most hospitable. The CAV systems are expected to produce significant improvements in roadway capacity, traffic flow smoothness, driving comfort and convenience, energy efficiency, pollution reduction and traffic safety. Realizing those benefits will require a serious investment of attention and resources by the State, because these technologies need nurturing to facilitate their deployment. The required actions include a mixture of investments in developing the needed knowledge base and in establishing an appropriate policy framework.