## 1 Introduction  
Vehicular communication is pivotal in intelligent transportation systems, aiming to provide users with advanced safety, efficiency, and infotainment services [1; 2]. Within this domain, prior to the deployment of the emerging New Radio (NR), two prominent technologies dominated the vehicular network landscape, namely Dedicated Short-Range Communications (DSRCs) and Long-Term Evolution Vehicle-to-Everything (LTE-V2X) [3]. These technologies have gained considerable recognition due to their potential to augment the safety and efficacy of connected vehicles. With the rise in accidents, crime, and transportation incidents, the impact of connected vehicles on our lives has become increasingly significant [4; 5]. Improving safety in intelligent transportation systems requires effective situational awareness adaptation within the vehicular network [6]. Although this paper is geared towards DSRCs that have been effectively deployed in most countries, as we delve into the world of vehicular communication, understanding the evolution from DSRC and LTE-V2X to the emerging NR technology opens new possibilities and advancements for the future of connected vehicles. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the USA, on-road crashes in 2021 increased by 21%, speeding-related crashes rose by 5%, and pedestrian fatalities increased by 13% [7]. Situational awareness adaptation in the vehicular network is critical to improving safety in intelligent transportation systems [8]. To ensure communication interface alignment among all manufacturers and enable seamless communication within the V2X arena, standards have been established to ensure uniformity within automotive and infrastructure organizations. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) provides DSRC standards [9]. Specifically, the IEEE 802.11p standardizes the physical and medium access control (MAC) layers for DSRC [10; 11]. Similarly, the 3 rd-Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) develops the standards for LTE-V2X (Long-Term Evolution Vehicle-to-Everything) [12]. The 3 GPP is a collaboration between various telecommunications-standardization organizations that work together to develop specifications for mobile communication systems that include LTE-V2X technology. In recent years, the 3 rd-Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) has introduced significant updates to its system releases, including the New Radio (NR) release-16 and release-17 [13]. These updates have been designed to enhance vehicular communication capabilities, providing higher data rates, improved reliability, and lower latency compared to the previous release-14 [14]. The introduction of these advancements has highlighted the need for the deployment of technology for transportation and public safety [15; 16; 17; 18] and has captured the interest of public organizations. These organizations acknowledge the potential benefits of utilizing these advancements to improve communication with first responders and law-enforcement agencies, particularly in critical situations. This exploration could also be extended to the realms of multimedia transmission and Artificial Intelligence (AI) integration into VANETs, particularly in the areas of image-compression techniques. These include Singular Value Decomposition (SVD), Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT), and Information Aggregation (IA). These pivotal methods play a crucial role in enhancing the efficiency and efficacy of multimedia transmission within vehicular communication systems. Several countries have actively embraced the deployment of LTE-V2X technology to advance their transportation systems. China, the United States [19], South Korea, Germany, and the United Kingdom are among the countries that have shown considerable interest in and have made progress in implementing LTE-V2X [20]. Through large-scale trials, pilot projects, and field tests, these countries aim to evaluate the performance and applicability of LTE-V2X in real-world scenarios.