Feds Want Vehicles To Talk To One Another

Federal regulators want your car to be able to talk to others on the road in a bid to reduce motor vehicle crashes and to help motorists avoid traffic jams.

After years of study, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said in early-February it will begin taking steps that could eventually require all new cars and trucks to be equipped with so-called vehicle-to-vehicle, or V2V, technology, calling it a "key" to saving lives while also improving traffic flow in major urban areas.

At its most basic, V2V technology could be used to pass information about weather and traffic conditions from one vehicle to the next, alerting a driver, for example, to take a detour around a tie-up or when roads are icy. The technology could be used to signal motorists when a driver runs a stoplight, giving them time to hit their brakes.

The technology also could be linked to local roadway systems to get even more detailed information about road and weather conditions. Meanwhile, a vehicle equipped with the technology could also get alerts to where the driver might find an open parking spot in a crowded downtown.

At its most advanced, V2V technology could become critical to the development of the autonomous vehicles that many automotive manufacturers hope to put into production by the beginning of the next decade.

NHTSA officials said their research indicates a "large majority" of crashes involving two or more vehicles could be prevented through the use of vehicle-to-vehicle systems. The technology could be used to provide warnings – or even automatically take evasive action "in common crash types such as rear-end, lane change, and intersection crashes," a statement from the safety agency suggested.

The feds plan to release a more complete report on the research program later this month and will announce proposed rules before the end of the Obama Administration.

Back to NAFA Connection