Video Courtesy of Brisa.

Benefits of 5.9 GHz DSRC

Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) at 5.9 GHz is an unprecedented 75MHz of radio-frequency bandwidth allocated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to “increase traveler safety, reduce fuel consumption and pollution, and continue to advance the nation’s economy (1).” DSRC is a communications service that supports both Public Safety and Private operations in vehicle-to-roadside and vehicle-to-vehicle communication environments. DSRC complements satellite, WiMax, 3G, and other communications protocols by providing the highest data transfer rates in circumstances where minimizing latency in the communication link and isolating relatively small communication zones are important.

(1) Federal Communications Commission. FCC 99-305, FCC Report and Order, October 1999.

SAFETY Applications

Automobile fatality rates (per million miles traveled) have actually declined over the past few years, most likely due to improved safety features, such as air bags, stability control and anti-lock breaks. However, there are still more than 40,000 lives lost each year that are traffic related.  More than a third occur at intersections.  DSRC applications present the possibility to decrease these numbers substantially.  Intersection collision avoidance, curve speed warning, signal violation warning, and rollover warning are just a few of the DSRC applications which could drastically improve the safety of operating a vehicle and highlight the importance of adopting this new technology.

MOBILITY Applications

Congestion poses one of the greatest threats to our nation’s economic well-being.  Nationwide, drivers waste nearly 4 billion hours of time and over 2 billion gallons of fuel each year by sitting idle or inching forward in traffic jams. This results in increases in emission levels (and also stress levels) and reduced quality of life.  Businesses lose an estimated $200 billion per year due to congestion, which delays freight delivery, and impacts just-in-time manufacturing.  Clearly, traffic flow improves in the absence of traffic accidents.  Hence, there are significant mobility benefits when employing DSRC to improve safety.  Additionally, there are mobility specific applications for DSRC, such as probe data collection.  This data can be turned into information and used by traffic management centers to re-route traffic to a less congested path.  This saves time, money and lowers emission levels.  Electronic payment services allow vehicles to move through toll plazas without waiting in a queue.  This also saves time, and reduces emissions.

COMMERCIAL Applications

For commercial vehicle operators, the technical capabilities of 5.9GHz DSRC make possible some compelling benefits. The technology is well suited to perform multiple applications on a single device. For the two million trucks that operate nationwide, this is particularly significant.  For this group to pay tolls and conduct CVISN applications – the common applications currently utilized -  a carrier needs potentially eight tags in the cab, potentially eight accounts to manage at the office, and probably eight paperwork processes to manage them. With 5.9GHz DSRC, ‘one tag-one account’ is a feasible main objective.  Remote diagnostics, fleet management, port/gate access are just a few of the other applications which can be implemented using one nationally interoperable DSRC tag.