Audi Looking to Use V2X Technology to Make School Zones and Buses Safer

Audi has been using V2X (Vehicle-to-Infrastructure) technology for a few years, with its most famous use being the Traffic Light Assist function that tells drivers about traffic light changes ahead of time. Now, though, Audi wants to use the same tech to make school zones and school buses safer.

There were over 17 million violations of school bus stop-arms in America in 2019. Such violations can be incredibly dangerous, as the bus’s stop-arm only deploys when it’s picking up or dropping off children. Audi wants to prevent these dangerous violations from happening, so it wants to use V2X technology to alert the Audi driver of a bus deploying its stop-arm, giving the driver ample time to stop.

Additionally, Audi wants to use the same V2X technology to alert drivers of school zones. School zones are typically 25 mph and, with this technology, Audi drivers will be alerted when they enter a school zone and prompted to slow down.

Audi has been using V2X technology since 2006, in fact, but it’s only beginning to really become popular now. Traffic Light Assist is now in more than 30 major metropolitan areas in America, only a couple of years after originally debuting in just Las Vegas first.

However, don’t expect this school-safety technology to happen right away. This is still in the early stages and requires a hefty infrastructure boost. The technology will require 5.9GHZ data speeds and the FCC has only just approved it. So don’t expect your local school zone to be able to talk to your Audi tomorrow. That said, the fact that Audi is working on it at all, with the help of Qualcomm and others, is encouraging. This sort of technology can be used to keep people and children safer and any technology that can do that is one we can get behind.