U.S. DOT conducts ITS tests in Washington, Utah

Intelligent transportation system (ITS) tests are being conducted in Washington and Utah to expedite emergency services, such as ambulances and medical personnel, by improving electronic communication between public safety and transportation agencies. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is conducting the tests in partnership with the states of Utah and Washington. The two ITS projects are part of DOT's effort to enhance public safety operations by improving information-sharing across organizational and jurisdictional boundaries. Utah's Department of Transportation and the Department of Public Safety are integrating their advanced transportation management systems and computer-aided dispatch systems. A key goal of the Utah project in Salt Lake City is to demonstrate that incident data can be formatted and managed so that each agency receives only useful and relevant information. The project also uses automated vehicle location and digital mapping functions to more quickly identify incident locations. The Seattle project integrates the Washington State Patrol's new computer-aided dispatch system into the Washington State Department of Transportation's Condition Acquisition and Reporting System (CARS). The CARS network is a secure Internet-based system that allows state, local and regional agencies to collect and share information regarding road incidents, weather conditions, traffic delays and other situations. The projects are expected to be completed in late 2005. The Utah project cost is $1.25 million with a federal share of $1 million. The Washington project cost is $462,194 with a federal share of $294,596. For additional information on ITS applications, go to DOT's ITS site at www.its.dot.gov