Our daily commute is becoming more and more difficult these days, especially when travelling by car. Traffic jams are persistently worsening and the ETA's (expected time of arrival) to our destinations are becoming less predictable. The use of innovative ICT solutions can change this and help in the accomplishment of certain goals in the areas of environment, safety and traffic circulation. After all, smart ICT applications make it possible to direct the traffic flow more rapidly through the road and highway infrastructure in order to deal with calamities more efficiently and to prevent accidents and/or affect driver behaviour. The first step in this direction has already been taken with in-car systems: the increase in number of navigation systems and the improvement of the quality of travel information is evidence thereof. Discussions on policies and innovations for in-car systems are gradually becoming heated topics of discussion. At the European level it is becoming clear, as per the white paper (which indicates the broad lines of the European policy on this subject area), the goals formulaterl Within the eSafety programme as well as the directives for inter-operational road charges. In various countries, the authorities are attempting to obtain a higher degree of control on the developments of in-car syserns. To optimise the distribution of traffic flows, in order to reduce the probability of congestion and to increase driving comfort, the authorities want to present their route advice directly to the individual motorist. Examples from the European framework programme show that cooperation on equal footing between the authorities and market parties could quickly lead to technical innovations making it possible to realise the far-reaching functional expectations of the authorities. To stimulate further market innovations in respect to the technology of in-car systems, it is necessary for the authorities to concentrate on the formulation of their collective wishes. Considering their functions, these wishes should be stable and future proof. The realisation of these concepts for the future seems to be possible as long as all parties proceed in harmony. This is actually not a technological problem, but an organisational one. The political framework has to be set but the willingness to take action is also needed. Various national ITS organisations are supporting this development, e.g. by offering a meeting place as platform, where representatives from the government and industry & IT (information technology) institutions can exchange insights on the in-car developments, and where experts work out agreements on harmonisation and standardisation. After reading through this booklet, you will have a general idea concerning the most important developments and initiatives in the field of in-car systems at the European level: A first step towards combining initiatives and the joined activities of different parties. (Author/publisher)
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