The Governor of Minnesota’s Advisory Council on Connected and Automated Vehicles has released its annual report describing Minnesota’s readiness for the technology and outlining the state’s major CAV efforts in 2020, the Minnesota Department of Transportation announced today.
Public-facing and in-person CAV events were put on hold in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the Governor’s Advisory Council continued to convene virtually and launched the CAV Innovation Alliance to coordinate emerging technologies statewide and serve as a one-stop shop for CAV in Minnesota.
The report notes other key activities, including:
- Testing new cellular vehicle communications technologies that connect snowplows and prevent red-light running to help avoid collisions.
- Completing a 10-year investment plan for fiberoptic that supports CAVs and broadband.
- Conducting the nation’s largest CAV survey to understand Minnesotans’ attitudes on CAV, as part of the state’s planning efforts for the Minnesota Strategic CAV Messaging and Engagement Plan, to be completed in 2021.
- Kicking off the state’s first CAV corridor planning effort with communities along Highway 52 from Rochester to St. Paul.
- Integrating CAV technology into snowplows to alert drivers when they’re coming upon a plow to help drivers avoid crashes and “see” in snowy conditions.
