Belcher calls on Obama for ITS support

Right: Scott Belcher, president and chief executive of ITS America: "For the sake of improved safety and mobility, economic productivity, a cleaner environment, and a better quality of life, Congress and the new Administration should make the deployment of intelligent transportation systems a centerpiece of new federal surface transportation legislation"

ITS America president and chief executive Scott Belcher marked the start of the 2008 ITS World Congress in New York with a plea to the incoming Obama administration to embrace traffic technologies to boost the US economy and improve its efficiency.

“Next year, lawmakers in Washington will be working to pass new federal surface transportation legislation,” concluded Belcher. “For the sake of improved safety and mobility, economic productivity, a cleaner environment, and a better quality of life, Congress and the new Administration should make the deployment of intelligent transportation systems a centerpiece of the bill.” 

“The intelligent vehicle and infrastructure technologies on display this week will save drivers precious time and hard-earned money by making travel safer and more convenient,” says Scott Belcher, president and chief executive of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America). “These technologies allow cars and roads to communicate with each other. They can prevent accidents before they happen, minimize traffic delays by reducing congestion and suggesting alternative routes based on real-time data, and even find you an available parking space.”

President-elect Obama and many Congressional leaders have identified improving America’s ailing transportation infrastructure as a national priority. Currently, a traffic accident occurs every five seconds on the roads killing over 42,000 Americans each year - equivalent to a full 737 flight crashing each day. Commuters waste more than seven million gallons of fuel daily, and the average rush hour commuter wastes almost a full work week each year stuck in traffic. The resulting financial cost to the economy exceeds US$300 billion per year.

“These unacceptable safety, environmental and congestions problems have solutions, and the answers often involve more effective use of technology,” says Randell H. Iwasaki, chairman of the Board of Directors for ITS America and chief deputy director of the California Department of Transportation. “ITS technologies are readily available, and even more advanced solutions are on the way that will help commuters, transit operators, and commercial vehicles get where they need to go more safely, efficiently, and cost-effectively than has ever been dreamed of in the past.”
 

18 November 2008