Recent Advances in V2X-Enabled Intelligent Transportation Systems: A PRISMA-Based Survey

Abstract

Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) technologies have become a key enabling technology in modern Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), supporting cooperative awareness, real-time data exchange, and coordinated decision-making among vehicles, infrastructure, and vulnerable road users. This paper presents a systematic survey of recent advancements in V2X-enabled ITS, with emphasis on safety enhancement, collision avoidance, and traffic efficiency optimization. Relevant studies were retrieved from the Scopus and Google Scholar databases, covering the period from 2020 to 2026, in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. To ensure the robustness of synthesized claims, a formal 5-point methodological quality appraisal was applied to the 176 fully accessible included studies, explicitly categorizing them by their evidence maturity (e.g., software simulation vs. real-world field test). To resolve the structural overlap inherent in modern vehicular networks, this survey proposes a novel four-layer cyber–physical taxonomy. The literature is systematically categorized into: (1) Communication and Security Infrastructure, (2) Perception and Human Interaction, (3) Algorithmic and Decision-Making, and (4) Macroscopic Applications. The findings indicate that while V2X-supported coordinated maneuvers and Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control significantly improve road safety and traffic stability, their success is strictly bounded by underlying latency constraints and human behavioral compliance. Furthermore, ML-driven approaches enhance predictive accuracy, communication efficiency, and security mechanisms within V2X systems. Despite notable progress, challenges remain in maintaining reliable communication under dense traffic conditions, strengthening cybersecurity defenses, ensuring system scalability, and fostering user acceptance. By synthesizing recent research advances and identifying open issues, this paper provides a comprehensive reference framework to guide future research and support the practical deployment of safe and reliable V2X-enabled transportation systems.