V2X to the Rescue for VRUs!

For motorcyclists and other vulnerable road users, V2X communication is a vital safety asset for the AV future.

As development of autonomous vehicles (AV) moves inexorably forward, connectivity-also known as vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication-will play a crucial role in their adoption. Much of the necessary V2X technology is already available, leaving regulatory and infrastructure challenges as the remaining major obstacles to an effective network rollout.

Deployment of V2X capabilities could be a boon to vulnerable road users (VRUs) such as motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians, according to safety experts. It is connectivity, not autonomy, that will alert a vehicle that traffic ahead has stopped, or that a motorcycle hidden behind buildings is approaching an intersection. ADAS and AV sensor suites help vehicles that are so equipped navigate their immediate environments in real-time, but it is the V2X network that promises to bring a safer, omniscient view of the road ahead to the VRUs as well.