DOT, Fed Hwy Admin, Office Of Acquisition Management, 400 7th St, SW, Room 4410, Washington, DC 20590

A -- INTELLIGENT VEHICLE INITIATIVE FIELD OPERATIONAL TEST PROGRAM SOL DTFH61-99-X-00003 DUE 031199 POC James H. Mowery III Telephone (202) 366-4244 TELEPHONED, E-Mailed, AND FAXED REQUESTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. In a Request for Applications (RFA) which will be published soon on the Electronic Posting System at Internet address HTTP://EPS.ARNET.GOV, the U. S. Department of Transportation (U. S. DOT) will be seeking Applications for multiple awards of Cooperative Agreements for the formation of partnerships to conduct field tests in support of the Intelligent Vehicle Initiative (IVI), which is part of the Intelligent Systems Program. The Recipient of each resulting Cooperative Agreement will conduct one or more field tests of intelligent vehicles that contain advanced safety systems, with the expectation that tested systems will be ready for deployment before the end of Federal Fiscal Year 2003. (The RESULTS of those IVI field tests will be EVALUATED independently of -- -- and outside -- -- the Cooperative Agreements awarded from this RFA). The primary objective of the IVI program is to advance the state of availability of in-vehicle systems to improve highway safety by reducing the number and severity of crashes. The secondary objectives of IVI are to improve highway efficiency, mobility, productivity, and environmental quality. Stakeholder feedback suggests that these objectives can be fostered in the near term through a field testing program of advanced safety prototype systems, particularly by systems that make the driver more effective in the driving task, such as collision avoidance systems. The proposed field tests are aimed at this testing. Applicants are expected to propose partnerships to perform the field tests of prototype systems in one or more of the four IVI platforms: light vehicles, commercial vehicles, transit vehicles, and specialty vehicles. Because the ENTIRE RFA will be published on the Electronic Posting System (EPS) at the Internet address cited above, the U. S. DOT does NOT plan to issue any HARD copies of the RFA to any prospective Applicant. Therefore, prospective Applicants are instructed NOT to send letters or faxes or E-Mails requesting the RFA. TELEPHONED, E-MAILED, AND FAXED REQUESTS FOR THE RFA WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Instead, all prospective Applicants are to obtain the RFA from the EPS. Any subsequent AMENDMENTS to the RFA will LIKEWISE be published on the EPS at the Internet address cited above, and the U. S. DOT does NOT plan to mail out HARD copies of any such amendments. Therefore, it shall be the responsibility of each prospective Applicant to closely and frequently MONITOR the EPS for any AMENDMENTS to the RFA. Monitoring the EPS for any amendments to the RFA will be absolutely essential for all prospective Applicants, since amendments usually contain crucial information. It is currently estimated that the RFA will be posted on the EPS on approximately December 11, 1998. The RFA will state the ACTUAL deadline for the submission of competing Applications. THE RFA WILL BE FULL AND OPEN COMPETITIVE. Posted 11/20/98 (W-SN273255). (0324)

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