The first freeway in America, the Arroyo Seco Parkway in Los Angeles, opened to great fanfare on December 30th, 1940. December 30th will mark Smart Highway Day, to be hopefully celebrated with great digital fanfare each year.
Smart Highways, also known as Smart Roads, are enabled by Internet of Things technologies and are a critical component of intelligent transportation systems. Most drivers are already familiar with the most basic implementation: automatic electronic tollways. Instead of having drivers slow down and toss coins into a collection device, sensors now enable full-speed toll collecting and traffic monitoring on countless roads across the nation. The effect on highway transportation has been dramatic by enabling express toll lanes. But electronic tollways are just the beginning. The ability of vehicles to interact with the infrastructure (V2I) combined with the ability of the infrastructure to interact with the vehicle will enable a new level of convenience, safety and efficiency. V2X means that vehicles will be connected to everything around them, including each other. Ultimately, the smart highway concept will lead to Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) effortlessly ferrying along passengers on roadways that are only lit when needed and that have the ability to recharge the vehicle as it travels.
Frequency
Smart Highway Day will be celebrated every December 30.
How to Celebrate
Hopefully, people won’t wait until 2044 to celebrate Smart Highway Day. First, take the day to learn more about the technology. Also, advocate for legislative changes that will enable smart highways to be deployed nationwide. The conversion to electric vehicles is vital to the economic case for enabling in-transit recharging. Contact your representatives to let them know that you support per-mile taxation to support the deployment of Smart Roads. Lastly, use the hashtag #SmartHighwayDay on social media to let people know that you do not want to drive another mile on dumb roads.
References:
Dumb Roads Are Getting Much Needed Upgrades
trafficsafetystore.com/blog/smart-highway-technology-illuminating-roads-of-the-future/
Arroyo Seco Parkway – Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arroyo_Seco_Parkway
Historical Events on December 30 – On This Day
onthisday.com/events/december/30
Zombies of Things 