The Federal Highway Administration allowed CARMA to take over port drayage testing in Auburndale, Fla., last month, the agency announced recently.

The FHWA announced on Twitter Jan. 13 that the goal of the testing was to demonstrate the effectiveness of cooperative driving automation (CDA) with the port's infrastructure to increase the movement of freight, the agency stated. 

Cooperative Automation Research Mobility Applications, or CARMA, is the FHWA program leading the research and development of CDA concepts and technologies. CDA allows properly equipped vehicles, infrastructure and road users to communicate and cooperate with each other. Benefits of CDA include reducing congestion, pollution, collisions and energy consumption while improving road safety, traffic flow and operational efficiency, according to the FHWA.

CARMA features an open-source software to encourage collaboration between researchers on how best to improve the mobility, efficiency and safety of the nation's transportation systems, including the research, development and testing of CDA approaches

"Ultimately, CDA-enabled cooperation can facilitate the safer and more efficient movement of road users, which can significantly improve the overall performance of the transportation system—and at lower cost than traditional methods," the FHWA stated on its website. 

"The introduction of CDA will provide essential solutions to the biggest challenges facing transportation. From reducing congestion, collisions, pollution, and energy consumption, to enhancing road user safety, traffic flows, and operational efficiency, CDA is poised to transform the nation’s roads."