Drivers of connected vehicles – connected to wireless networks – will be notified when someone is trying to cross the street after they push the signal button when the driver is still about a block away from the crossing…

TAPCO, the company that creates the technology, has tested it in about a half-dozen other cities, according to Mike Long, the company’s manager of product management. He said Austin is on the cutting edge as it deploys this type of technology and starts learning from it.

TAPCO and Siemens are funding the project while the ATD is monitoring the results of the pilot.

It’s currently unclear how many connected vehicles are on the roads in Austin. Not a lot of car manufacturers have standardized the technology in every new car either. But through the pilot, the City hopes to get at least some preliminary data on how many are already here.
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