Connected and automated vehicle technology part of government plans to improve safety and efficiency on Canadian roads
Back in mid-February, Hon. Marc Garneau, Canada’s Minister of Transport, provided testimony to the Transportation and Communications Standing Committee of the Senate, during which he elaborated on the mandate he received from the Prime Minister.
One of the areas the Transport Minister commented on as part of his testimony was the area of automated and connected vehicle technology, noting that his department’s engagement with these technologies was “… one way to ensure that we are making progress in achieving safety, efficiency and environmental gains in the sector.”
Automated and connected vehicles seem to tick all of the right boxes as a priority for the new Liberal government and for Transport Canada.
Connected and automated vehicles incorporate the Liberal platform commitment to take action on climate change, which is a theme that permeates the work of the entire cabinet.
Consider that in a transportation system of the future where all vehicles are connected to each other and to the infrastructure, they will be able to utilize the transportation infrastructure far more effectively.
They will be able to operate in closer proximity to one another on roadways for instance, and connectivity with the infrastructure will reduce the time spent waiting at traffic lights.
This may ultimately eliminate the need for traffic lights and stop signs all together, if a car “knows” where all of the other cars on the road are at an intersection and the infrastructure “knows” where the vehicles are and can interact with them accordingly.
If you think about the time you spend idling in traffic jams or at stop lights where there is no traffic coming the other way, the environmental benefits are clear.
In fact, Natural Resources Canada says “if Canadian motorists avoided idling for just three minutes every day of the year, CO2 emissions could be reduced by 1.4 million tonnes annually. This would be equal to saving 630 million litres of fuel and equivalent to taking 320,000 cars
off of the road for the entire year.”
Improving and modernizing Canada’s infrastructure has been a key focus of the Trudeau government as well. Running deficits partially to support an extra $60-billion in infrastructure spending over 10 years was a core plank of the Liberals’ election campaign.
The view is that such infrastructure investments were long overdue and building out infrastructure provides a significant number of jobs in a struggling economy.
While much of the infrastructure funds for transportation are focused on public transit, renewing and building new road infrastructure will be necessary as well. Connectivity would also need to be a consideration given that road infrastructure has a long lifespan.
In the excerpt from the Transport Minister’s testimony, safety was the first benefit highlighted as a result of a migration towards connected and automated vehicles.
Indeed, safety has really been the driver behind the movement towards regulating Dedicated Short-range Radio Communication(DSRC) in vehicles in the U.S. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration has suggested that up to 80 per cent of the non-alcohol related accidents could be avoided through the application of such technology.
Earlier in his remarks to the Senate, Committee Minister Garneau noted that he saw Transport Canada “…very much as an economic department, and I see its job as one to promote research and innovation to make transportation safer and more efficient.”
You will recall that creating a more innovative Canada was also a plank in the Liberals’ election platform. It’s interesting to note there is at least one Canadian firm at the forefront of the technology to develop the Security Credential Management System (SCMS) at the heart of vehicle-to-vehicle communication.
However, so much of the activity and development of these connected and automated systems is happening in other jurisdictions. The government, the automotive industry and the Canadian public need to ensure that we have the capacity to optimize the use of these technologies in Canada as they evolve, for all of the positive benefits I’ve recounted.
Staying involved in the North American and global dialogues on standards, policies, and regulatory developments is important to ensure we preserve the interoperability of the technologies that are largely developed here in Canada.
