C-Roads Explained: The cooperative roads project

Objectives and Scope

1. Enhancing Road Safety: By enabling real-time communication between vehicles and between vehicles and road infrastructure, C-ROADS aims to significantly reduce accident rates.
2. Improving Traffic Efficiency: The project seeks to alleviate congestion and improve traffic management through advanced communication technologies.
3. Ensuring Interoperability: A crucial goal is to ensure that C-ITS services are interoperable across various Member States, making them effective regardless of the location within the EU.

The primary objective of C-ROADS is to harmonize C-ITS deployment across Europe, focusing on services that have immediate benefits for road safety, traffic efficiency, and comfort of driving. The project integrates various C-ITS components like in-vehicle systems, roadside units, and central stations, ensuring they work cohesively across different regions and with different manufacturers’ systems.

Implementation and Real-World Data: 

C-ROADS utilizes a combination of technologies like Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRC) and cellular networks to facilitate vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication. For example, in Germany, the C-ROADS project has implemented C-ITS services on several motorways, providing real-time traffic information and safety warnings to drivers. According to the Federal Highway Research Institute (BASt), these implementations have involved over 250 km of equipped roadways and more than 150 vehicles in various pilot tests.

Interoperability and Cross-Border Services: 

A key achievement of C-ROADS is its focus on interoperability, ensuring that C-ITS services work seamlessly across borders. This aspect was demonstrated in pilot tests involving cross-border scenarios, such as the Germany-Austria cross-border pilot where vehicles successfully communicated with roadside units across national borders, sharing information like road works warnings and hazard notifications.

Technological Innovations: 

C-ROADS has been instrumental in advancing C-ITS technologies. It uses a mix of communication technologies, including cellular networks and 5G, for broader coverage and DSRC for localized communication. This dual-communication approach ensures reliability and real-time responsiveness crucial for safety-related services.

Impact and Results: 

The results from C-ROADS pilots indicate significant potential in enhancing road safety and traffic efficiency. In regions where C-ROADS services are active, there has been a noticeable reduction in traffic congestion and accidents. For instance, the emergency brake light warning service, which alerts drivers about sudden braking ahead, has shown potential in reducing rear-end collisions.

Challenges and Future Prospects

One of the major challenges for C-ROADS has been the harmonization of standards and technologies across different countries. To address this, the project includes various pilot sites across Europe to test and refine cross-border C-ITS services. Another challenge is public acceptance and understanding of C-ITS technologies, which is being tackled through public awareness campaigns and stakeholder engagements.

Future prospects include expanding the range of services, integrating with emerging autonomous vehicle technologies, and enhancing the scalability of C-ITS services across Europe.

C-ROADS is set to play a crucial role in the broader adoption of C-ITS services across Europe. The project’s advancements are expected to contribute significantly to the EU’s vision of a connected and automated mobility future.