ATSSA Signal March/April 2019

American Traffic Safety Services Association 22 Innovation & New Programs FHWA focuses on fueling highway automation Agency seeks information to advance automated vehicle technologies and infrastructure Beginning in May of last year, the Fed- eral Highway Administration (FHWA) an- nounced it would be holding a series of workshops to discuss the future of high- way automation and supporting road- way infrastructure. The series of events held the objectives of gathering infor- mation, facilitating information sharing, publicizing FHWA and U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) initiatives related to highway automation, and up- dating “institutional structures” to better work with stakeholders and strengthen coordination. ATSSA staff and members including the association’s Director of New Programs BrianWatson and ATSSA Pavement Mark- ing Committee Chair Rob Dingess attend- ed a number of these sessions. Topics related to highway automation, roadway safety, and infrastructurewere addressed including: planning and policy, digital in- frastructure and data, traffic operations, infrastructure design, and safety. “The FHWA dialogues were a pivotal step in progressing the advancements of Con- nected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs),” said Watson. “As we move forward in adapting our roadways to better support and communicate with automated vehi- cles, communication between auto and traffic control devicemanufacturers, along with public agencies, will be crucial.” Watson said these conversations being held on a national level are becoming a reoccurring theme and will propel ad- vancements being made in highway automation. “ATSSA is glad to take part in these con- versations. Themore the roadway safety manufacturers understand the needs of auto manufacturers, the more reliable and efficient these innovations can be- come,” said Watson. “The relationship between these two industries is off to a slow start, but these discussions are help- ing to bring industries together. ATSSA is heavily invested in ensuring the lines of communication remain open. The asso- ciation held its first roundtable with the Automotive Safety Council, which rep- resents tier one auto suppliers, including machine vision manufacturers, last year and held another roundtable during its 49th Annual Convention & Traffic Expo on Feb. 12 in Tampa, Florida.” According to Dingess, the national dia- logue series was an important effort on behalf of the FHWA to initiate the process of understanding the potential impact of automated driving systems on the future of roadway systems and the broader transportation infrastructure system. “The FHWA’s national dialogue will begin to createanewframework, throughwhich the administration will examine all pro- grams through the prismof preparing for automation,” Dingess said. “The national dialogue gave FHWA insights into the im- pact of these technologies on traffic con- trol devices such as pavement markings and traffic signs aswell as how interstates and secondary roads will be impacted, andwhether or not adjustmentswill need to be made to the system to support au- tomated driving.” The FHWA has stated it has desired out- comes it hopes to reach when it comes to its efforts related to advancing high- way automation. According to its website, the administration aims to assess nation- al highway automation issues and outline priorities; develop guidelines, standards and best practices; back necessary and supporting research; update policies and programs as needed; and establish a nationwide coalition or community fo- cused on automated driving. “The national dialogues reinforced the two key priorities that the FHWA’s request for information discovered at the beginning of 2018,” said Dingess. “There is a desper- ate need for improvements in pavement marking uniformity, quality, and mainte- nance, as well as the need for new tech- nologies that permit roadway work zones to effectively communicatewith automat- ed systems. In our industry, it is all going to start with road markings and work zones.” As Dingess points out, there will be a heavy emphasis on ensuring traffic con- trol devices adequately support CAV tech- nologies and AdvancedDriver Assistance Systems (ADAS). The FHWA recognizes the importance of standardized devices, roadwaymarkings, and signage and their impact on safe and efficient automated and nonautomated driving. One area of focus will be to update the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devic- es (MUTCD), which has not been revised since 2009. The administration, alongwith other state and national transportation agencies, recognized the MUTCD as the national standard for all traffic control devices on all roadways that are open to public travel. The FHWA plans to update the manual in order to reflect the emer- gence of automated technologies. “The standardization of traffic control devices is not only important in their support of CAV technologies, but in gen- eral, this helps the human driver and increases roadway safety overall,” said ATSSA Senior Technical Advisor Eric Per- ry. “The transportation industry as a whole is on the forefront of an exciting time and lots of change is to be expect- ed. Automated vehicles are already here and it will be interesting to see the out- comes as we move toward a fully auto- mated roadway system.”