Submitted by Aiken Jacobsen on
There are a number of reasons accidents occur: drunk driving, distracted driving, slippery roads, or even regular driver error. The choices we make while in the car largely determine our safety. But sometimes car accidents just happen. They are inevitable as long as humans who can make mistakes are driving the car.
This is why many futurists have long dreamed that we might someday see self-driving cars. Prominent researchers are working on this technology, but it is still a few years away from being put into mass production. In the mean time, many car companies are introducing the next best thing: cars which automatically communicate with other cars around them.
Many new cars are being outfitted with communications systems which combine elements of wi-fi internet and GPS navigation. The concept is pretty simple. Each car transmits a signal in all directions around itself. Other cars then pick up that signal and use it to keep track of the location, speed, and movements of that car and any other cars which transmit a signal.
If a car suddenly makes an unexpected or dangerous move which could cause a crash, other cars receive that data immediately and can warn the driver. The difference between a fatal car accident and an avoided crash is often a matter of a few seconds.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is already lauding this new technology. A spokesman for the NHTSA estimates that vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems could prevent 80 percent of all accidents which are not caused by driving under the influence. That would amount to 4.3 million crashes per year.
Eventually, the new technology will help address other concerns on the road, including traffic congestion. For now, though, car companies are working diligently to perfect vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems which could change the safety of driving as we know it.
Source: Wired.com, "'Talking Cars' Are Coming Soon to Keep Us Safe," Chuck Squatriglia, 31 January 2011
