Transport ministers from Germany, Austria and the Netherlands announced in 2013 that they would be creating this cross-border corridor and have subsequently demonstrated an unprecedented level of co-operation across ministries, motorway operators and the automotive industry to prepare the corridor for public use in 2015.

The initiative will see roads across the three countries fitted with smart traffic lights and other intelligent road signs that are able to interact with connected vehicles and alert drivers to upcoming traffic jams and road hazards before they enter the field of vision. The result is not only a dramatic reduction in road fatalities, but minimizing the environmental damage and economic loss caused by traffic jams, estimated to have cost Europe approximately €7.4 billion (US$9.2 billion) in 2013 alone.

As a leader in the field of connected cars and pioneer of secure Vehicle-to-X (V2X) technology—vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication—NXP Semiconductors initiated the Communicating Cars test drive along the European ITS Corridor. In addition to ensuring secure connections between the cars involved in the demo and to the infrastructure, NXP also brought in other industry leaders to help make the tour a reality including:

• Siemens: responsible for supplying the intelligent infrastructure, interurban traffic systems, urban controller, traffic lights, environmental detection systems and road works warning-systems with secure cooperative V2X modules

• Honda: supplying the cars for the tour

• Cohda Wireless: supplying the application software

• TÜV Süd, Automobile clubs AvD and ANWB as supporters of V2X communications

Beginning in Munich, the cars will then travel to Vienna to drive along the Siemens ITS telematics test field on 17 November. They will arrive at their final destination, the Rotterdam and Helmond test fields in the Netherlands, on 19 November. Here, a closing conference will be held to discuss important issues concerning road safety with high-ranking politicians and representatives of leading companies and automotive groups.

V2X technology. Direct communication with V2X-capable vehicles and intelligent infrastructure gives drivers advanced warning of such upcoming hazards as dangerous road conditions, unexpected traffic jams, approaching ambulances or road works all long before they enter their field of vision. These V2X features ideally complement existing driver assistance systems such as cameras or radar. V2X-capable vehicles also receive information from intelligent road signs and automatically recognize the operating cycle of traffic lights.

All these use cases have the potential to make road transport much safer and smoother than it is today. V2X communication is not reliant on cellular service providers or other mobile networks, which can be slow or unstable, but uses IEEE 802.11p, a communication standard, which is related to Wi-Fi and tailored especially to the needs of the automotive industry. Direct communication between road users and infrastructure ensures the instant and secure transmission of traffic and vehicle data.