University of California Institute of Transportation Studies

California has experienced faster growth in freight volume than freight-related infrastructure, leading to travel delays as well as traffic congestion and air pollution. Onestrategy to improve the efficiency of freight movement while also reducing environmental impacts is to encourage “connected eco-driving.” This could be accomplished by utilizing innovative connected vehicle technology to provide truck drivers real time traffic signal phase and timing information that could be used to determine the best driving speed for passing smoothly through multiple intersections without stopping. The technology has been in research and development for over a decade. While initially developed for passenger cars the connected eco-driving technology has also been applied to other types of vehicles, including Class 8 diesel trucks.