C-ITS compliance assessment framework for Australia and New Zealand
With the emergence of cooperative intelligent system (C-ITS)-based services, it is necessary to put in place an assurance compliance framework that will ensure the safe operation of C-ITS.
Context
C-ITS will allow vehicle and transport applications to work together cooperatively to deliver outcomes that are beyond what is achievable with standalone ITS and vehicle applications. C-ITS are expected to significantly improve road safety, traffic efficiency and traffic management. C-ITS will also serve commercial services and prepare the technology needed for self-driving vehicles.
C-ITS deployment is in its infancy. Europe and the USA are leading the global developments, driven by the industry wanting to develop the automotive market by bringing voluntary C-ITS services quickly into the market. Policy makers try to create favourable market and regulatory conditions so that society can start to reap the benefits from the emerging C-ITS services (e.g. hazardous location notifications and signage applications). In Australia and New Zealand, significant C-ITS research work has been undertaken. Moreover, both countries are proactively undertaking connected and automated vehicle Trials.
Austroads, the peak organisation of Australasian road transport and traffic agencies, is seeking to identify and assess options for an assurance compliance framework in the area of C-ITS. The framework should ensure that C-ITS stations comply with a range of agreed specifications ensuring that these do not jeopardise safety, are fit for purpose, are interoperable, support an open vendor market and avoid vendor lock-in with proprietary Solutions.
Results
A Rapp-led team of experts produced a report on a C-ITS compliance assessment framework (CAF) for Australia and New Zealand , which covers the key findings from a literature review, describes the main CAF model options and the results from the stakeholder consultations.
The C-ITS CAF options cover status quo, self-regulation, quasi-regulation and regulation, whereby the level of regulation and assurance by the government increases with each option. The report sets out the options and discusses them in detail, including the proposed approach based on hybrid model options and guidance relating to key topics, such as governance architecture and approval processes
It provides recommendations for the main tasks to be undertaken in the further development and implementation of a C-ITS CAF in Australia and New Zealand.
The stakeholder consultations, involved discussions with more than 80 stakeholders ranging across more than 40 organisations, were undertaken to seek feedback on the proposed models, the evaluation of the models and the proposed direction for the future work.
The project also produced a high-level project plan for achieving a C-ITS compliance assessment framework in Australia and New Zealand.