A Brief Introduction to the Intelligent Transportation System and Its Perks
A vehicle collision claims the lives of around 1.3 million people every year. Around 20 and 50 million additional individuals are affected by non-fatal injuries, with many of them becoming disabled as a result.
People, their families, and entire nations suffer significant financial losses because of road accidents. Most nations lose 3% of their gross domestic product (GDP) due to road traffic accidents.
The expense of treatment, as well as missed productivity for those killed or crippled by their injuries, as well as family members who must miss work or school to care for the injured, result in these losses.
An intelligent transportation system (ITS) is a sophisticated application that aims to provide innovative services related to various modes of transportation and traffic management to better inform users and enable them to make safer, more coordinated, and agile use of transportation networks.
As a result, intelligent transportation systems are being created worldwide to reduce these losses by implementing smart technologies such as traffic management, ramp meters, and traveler information systems, among other things.
Furthermore, with the concept of smart cities changing cities into digital societies and making citizens' lives simpler in every manner, the intelligent transportation system (ITS) has become an integral part of all.
ITS Program of the U.S. Department of Transportation
ITS refers to a broad range of information and electrical technologies that use both wireless and wired connections. The U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Research and Innovation Technology Management Department's ITS Joint Program Office (JPO) conducts traffic safety research on behalf of the USDOT and all major modes of transportation.
ITS oversees electronic and information technology applications for transportation and environmental sustainability. Infrastructure and automobiles, as well as integrated applications between the two, are the focus of ITS applications, which enable the development of intelligent transportation systems.
The U.S. Department of Transportation's ITS Program invests in important research initiatives and exploratory studies. It also invested in a deployment assistance program to advance ITS in general.
Federal investments are increasingly concentrating on opportunities or massive projects that can increase safety, mobility, and productivity significantly. The use of ITS is now generally accepted and used in many countries.
Not only is it used to regulate traffic congestion and provide information regarding it, but it is also used to improve road safety and infrastructure use. ITS has expanded into a multidisciplinary conjunctive area of endeavor because of its boundless potential. Numerous firms across the world have built solutions to meet the need for ITS applications.
The city of Glasgow is an example of a country that has adopted ITS. The city's intelligent transportation system delivers regular information about public buses, timetables, seat availability, current bus position, the time required to reach a certain place, next bus location, and passenger density within the bus to everyday commuters.
Growing Challenges
However, America's transportation infrastructure is one of its greatest successes and the economy's lifeblood; nonetheless, it faces significant challenges. Some significant challenges are explained as follows:
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Advantages of Intelligent Transportation System
Mobility is a crucial issue in every city; residents rely on the city's transportation system to move around, whether they're going to school, college, the office, or any other purpose.
Providing an ITS to inhabitants might save them time while also rendering the city more competent.
By merging current communications technology with transportation infrastructure and vehicles, ITS technologies increase transportation safety while enhancing productivity.
Some perks of ITS are as follows:
• Fewer pauses and delays at crossings
• Capacity management on the road
• Incident management.
• Speed control and improvement
• Travel time improvement
Impact of COVID-19 on ITS
Since a packed bus or train creates more opportunities for individuals to become infected, COVID-19 rules strive to make commuting less overcrowded. Highway traffic patterns were drastically affected because of shelter-in-place orders issued at the outset of the epidemic.
Since there were fewer cars on the roads and highways, transportation authorities were able to accelerate their public works construction schedules.
On the other hand, manufacturers of ITS hardware were adversely harmed and were unable to deliver supplies in time for the implementation of these rushed building projects.
Fortunately, while the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic had a severe impact on the ITS industry, it is gradually recovering to its pre-COVID-19 position as businesses reopen.
Conclusion
Transportation systems technology aims to analyze and disseminate data to avoid possible collisions, keep traffic flowing, and reduce the transportation sector's adverse environmental consequences on society.
There are numerous and major long-term benefits to a modified transportation system, particularly one that is entirely integrated, data-rich, and capable of addressing security, mobility, and environmental concerns. They will be felt by all, bringing more livability to our neighborhoods and everyday lives.
Through the integration of sophisticated communications technology into transportation infrastructure and vehicles, ITS improves transportation safety and mobility while also increasing productivity.
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