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ITS ARIZONA ANNUAL MEETING – CONFERENCE KEYNOTE SPEECH (DAY TWO)

• This nation has a long and proud history of finding a way to solve its problems—to look beyond the ‘now’

to make our way of life and livelihood better and more prosperous—through innovation.

• And few things better embody this ideal than transportation in the United States.

• Transportation is the lifeblood of our economy; it connects people to jobs, puts products on shelves and

allows international commerce to thrive despite oceans, mountains and borders.

• The movement of people and goods is interwoven into the fabric of our country and without the promise

of a safe, reliable and modern transportation system; two of the values that make America strong—liberty

and equal opportunity—would be a much tougher sale.

• Transportation cannot be seen as something disconnected from other priorities—it is directly linked to

economic growth and opportunities; transportation is a big a reason why a community thrives or struggles.

• In this light, transportation’s influence is measured equally no matter the scale.

• In the 20th Century, America’s innovators designed cars and trucks that were affordable and reliable and

capable of mass production; and as a result, opportunity was unchained from geography and the modern

automotive industry unquestionably helped fuel the rise of the middle class.

• The Federal Interstate Highway System, the Space Program—these initiatives fundamentally transformed

our cities and communities while sparking the creation of new ones.

• In 21st Century, the world is without a doubt a much different place, but the core idea remains sound.

• It underpins the vision for America’s transportation system that President Obama and Transportation

Secretary Anthony Foxx outline in the GROW AMERICA ACT and why this Administration has made the

development and deployment of the most promising technologies a centerpiece of our national

transportation strategy.

• I’m here today, because Intelligent Transportation Systems are the future of transportation, and this

nation has a real opportunity to make this technology that next great, transformational innovation.

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• And, this opportunity—and the ideas, research and hard work behind it—is very much product of this

information technology era.

• The critical capabilities that make Intelligent Transportation Systems so promising are almost ubiquitous.

• GPS and similar position, navigation and timing systems, wireless broadband communications, and

advanced, mobile computational power: these are things that people worldwide depend on for almost any

facet of their life and work.

• The ability to transmit, receive and process vast amounts of data has long shed away the label of niche, or

novelty, and via smartphones and other innovations, has become a need that transcends borders and

economic status.

• If decision- and policy-makers shrugged their shoulders and chose to ignore how this technological

progress—or symbiosis between people and data-driven devices—is changing life and commerce, our

response will be dictated by the consequences…rather than derived by the benefits.

• The inextricable link between transportation and everything, I mentioned a moment ago, means that these

kinds of technologies will continue to be more integrated into travel and transportation management.

• From the 35,000 foot vantage point, this transformation is chaotic and creating new benefits, like transit

data APIs that developers can use to build new travel information apps, as well as new problems and

threats in the public sphere…including distracted driving.

• At eye level, it’s a reflection of how life, commerce and culture have changed as wireless data

communication and mobile devices have become exponentially more sophisticated and ubiquitous.

• The opportunity that Intelligent Transportation Systems represent…is the opportunity to leverage the

benefits of this progress to make transportation safer and better—on a timeline that maximizes the

desired outcomes and minimizes the consequences.

• With this in mind, transportation leaders and decision-makers can’t let the first half of the 21st Century be

known as an era of missed opportunities.

• Connected vehicles use proven technology to enable motor vehicles, roadside infrastructure and mobile

devices to securely and anonymously share critical real-time data and are the culmination of years of

cooperative research by the Department, industry and leading universities.

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• This connected vehicle data enables equipped cars, motorcycles, trucks and even pedestrians to see each

other, even when the driver cannot, and alert them if a collision is imminent.

• I’m talking about a safety technology that goes beyond safety belts and air bags; this is something that can

save lives and prevent life-changing injuries by helping drivers avoid crashes.

• The same connected vehicle technology will also change how cities and communities manage their roads

and transit systems by providing an unprecedented picture of system performance—supporting smart

traffic signals and other innovations that will make transportation more responsive.

• The possible applications for people behind the wheel, transit riders and other users are limitless.

• All of this adds up to safer roads, less time spent sitting in traffic and fewer vehicle emissions—a winning

formula for economic strength and a higher quality of life.

• This capability, at its core, is the connected vehicle—a capability I want to emphasize is in no way limited

to motor vehicles, but the current research and policy focus from the federal perspective/

• What truly makes the connected vehicle platform a huge leap for transportation agencies and

organizations across the country is that it allows a state like Arizona—a community like Mesa—to design

and prioritize applications that address problems and needs that aren’t necessarily shared with Maryland;

for example.

• The connected vehicle is in a sense, a responsive node within transportation network, so while the basic

collision warning capabilities remain effective whether a car or motorcycle is traveling through downtown

Phoenix or somewhere along a remote stretch of U.S. Route 180, the data communicated to the vehicle

can be designed around the specific threats unique to a locality or region.

• So, the vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure platform has the flexibility to provide much

different safety and information capabilities near Grand Canyon National Park than it would in Denver,

Colorado or here in Mesa.

• Thousands of specially-equipped connected vehicles driven by average citizens have tested the technology

on the streets of Ann Arbor, Michigan for the past two years.

• This effort brought together major automakers, technology companies and leading academic research

programs and provided crucial data on how the technology performed.

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• We want to move forward on connected vehicles and bring this technology to our vehicle fleets and

streets, which is why the Safety Pilot Model Deployment was so significant.

• The Safety Pilot data was compelling enough to support the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

agency decision late last year on connected vehicle safety communications; a key step toward

implementing the technology in new light-duty vehicles.

• With a NHTSA decision on heavy vehicles in the near future, it’s clear the pace of transportation progress is

not slowing down.

• President Obama was able to see the possibilities for himself last month when he visited FHWA’s Turner

Fairbank research facility in Virginia.

• He got behind the wheel of a cutting-edge driving simulator for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-

infrastructure communication.

• The President’s visit underscored the success of our efforts in advanced ITS technologies such as

connected vehicles as well as our ITS program as a whole.

• Earlier I called transportation the lifeblood of our economy and way of life and this idea is why, since I

became the Transportation Secretary, I’ve talked a lot about prioritizing our nation’s transportation

policies to help create economic opportunities for all.

• Intelligent Transportation Systems are a game-changer, because the technology will make surface

transportation safer and more efficient than ever before, while sparking new industries, revitalizing

existing ones and creating new jobs as a result.

• Connected vehicles and other advanced Intelligent Transportation Systems technologies not only position

the United States for the future but will help improve safety and mobility on a global scale.

• Today, our supply chains are global and nearly on demand and information can be sent and received

anywhere in the world almost the speed of light.

• Life and commerce transcends borders and our global community is inherently more interconnected as a

result.

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• Our international ITS work is vital to the enduring success of the technology, because moving on this alone

ignores the reality of an interconnected world.

• However, this alone should not motivate the United States to continue to build new bridges to the

international transportation community and strengthen existing ties.

• Our ITS program has been successful in no small part to efforts to share knowledge and lay the

groundwork for technology can make save lives and reduce traffic anywhere.

• We believe in the capability of innovators and thought leaders around the country to pivot off the body of

research and wealth of data, and launch pioneering ITS initiatives in their own cities and communities.

• And this underscores how important it is that agents of change seize the opportunity to be an early

adopter; to be a model for the rest of the country, while simultaneously achieving better outcomes for

their citizens and advancing innovation.

• Maricopa County and the Arizona Department of Transportation are doing just that.

• Arizona’s SMARTDrive in Maricopa County is using Intelligent Transportation Systems technology to

dynamically adjust traffic signals for emergency responders and transit operators, as well as provide real-

time traffic and transit information to travelers.

• SMARTDrive was made possible by forward-thinking leaders in the public and private sector, including the

University of Arizona, who came together to use existing Intelligent Transportation Systems research to

address a significant safety problem—crashes resulting from emergency vehicles trying to reach their

destinations as quickly as possible.

• This initiative not only has the potential to save lives in Maricopa County, but serves as a model for the

rest of the country.

• Additionally, Arizona is moving forward with a plan to implement Integrated Corridor Management on

Highway 101—a combination of ITS applications, and 21st Century tools and practices that ease

congestion and keep traffic moving.

• And I know that folks from Dallas are here to talk about their own experience with Integrated Corridor

Management as one of the pilot cities to participate first phase of the Department’s ICM initiative.

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• All these efforts should be commended.

• But, keeping one foot firmly on the ground here, everyone here in this room understands that for any new

technology to endure, to fully realize its potential, it needs to achieve real results users and create new

opportunities in the marketplace.

• The connected vehicle platform the U.S. DOT has made a priority for vastly enhancing roadway safety and

management, can…and will…do both.

• That’s why we’ve structured the connected vehicle research program around strategic partnerships with

automakers and technology companies and leading academic research programs.

• We’re all in it to save lives and ensure surface transportation in the United States continues to be a world

class force for economic prosperity.

• But the long-term success of any effort to move a cooperative research and development program into an

implementation phase, and ultimately, into the commercial market, will hinge upon the institutional and

technical framework around it.

• This means mitigating risk for businesses, industry and the consumer by helping to facilitate a commercial

environment for ITS technologies like V2I that is competitive, fair and capable of maximizing the safety,

performance and environmental benefits while promoting further innovation in transportation.

• Three key elements supporting this framework are interoperability of the core technology, pragmatic, but

forward-looking standards and access to robust deployment data and best practices.

• So, when I was asked to sit here and make the business case for investing in V2I technology, I neither had

the intention or ability to spill some kind of secret formula for turning a great idea into a state-of-the-art,

game-changing product.

• What I can say to you is that the genie is out of the bottle—the transportation system…in all its facets—is

evolving into an ever-more data-driven, interconnected environment behind the inertia of a world that is

ever-more data-driven and interconnected.

• From the 35,000 foot vantage point, this transformation is chaotic and creating new benefits, like transit

data APIs that developers can use to build new travel information apps, as well as new problems and

threats in the public sphere…including distracted driving.

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• At eye level, it’s a reflection of how life, commerce and culture have changed as wireless data

communication and mobile devices have become exponentially more sophisticated and ubiquitous.

• The technology platform that enables V2I, leverages these advancements to make transportation safer

and better.

• And in the near-term, we envision that OEM and aftermarket devices like those we’re testing under live,

real-world in Ann Arbor, Michigan will be a standard feature in motor vehicles rolling off assembly lines;

empowering drivers with collision-warning systems that intercede by informing decisions when a collision

is imminent, rather than protecting the occupant in the event of one.

• The Department’s Connected Vehicle Safety Pilot, which represents a strong partnership between key

leaders in government, industry and the academic community, has been such a success that it had been

extended beyond its original 12 month timeframe.

• We plan to launch a second Safety Pilot, and will be looking for industry partners to support the initiative

in the near future.

• The rich scientific data produced by the vehicles being tested by the Safety Pilot is creating a virtual road

map for the future of connected vehicle technology and supporting ITS applications in the United States.

• This where the rubber meets the road—literally—where years of conceptual research has now evolved

into testable, scalable technology and a wealth of data to guide critical decisions by NHTSA and Federal

Highways.

• And the public imagination was captured by the idea of “driverless” vehicles, as vehicle automation

emerged as a hot topic in the media and political sphere.

• However, connected vehicles and the supporting smart infrastructure…as innovative and game-changing

as they may be, are an initial iteration of a larger systemic shift toward connectivity and autonomy—which

presents limitless opportunities now and in the decades to come.

• The reality is no one is prepared to step in, declare, “Make it so!”, and wave away the risks that still exist

for you, for transportation agencies from the federal to municipal level, for policy makers that may shape

the program’s direction in the future.

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• But, we shouldn’t want that—it should be about what the research tells us, what we learn from early

adopters.

• The core safety capability of vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications technology is

simply too verifiably effective to ignore; and taking the necessary steps to facilitate an agency decision by

NHTSA on this core capability is driven by our mission.

• The technology on its own merits makes a powerful case for becoming the next great milestone for

progress in roadway and vehicle transportation.

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