If your car could talk, besides “wash me”,
what would it say? Would it ask you to ease on the brakes once in a while? What about a nice new quart of oil? Would traffic be smoother if cars could
communicate with each other? The
Department of Transportation hopes to answer this question this summer. In August, the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration plans to have 2,800 cars, trucks, and buses on the
streets of Ann Arbor, all fitted with technologies that will alert drivers to road
hazards, sudden stops, and blind spots.
“The reason why we are so excited about this is, is that this
technology, when fully deployed, can address up to 80 percent of crash
scenarios involving not-impaired drivers,” said, NHTSA administrator David
Strickland.
Many cars use proximity sensors to alert motorists to nearby
hazards, but in this case the augmented vehicles will use traditional GPS and a
wireless broadcasting method similar to Wi-Fi to communicate. The DOT has nicknamed the concept “Connected
Vehicle Technology”, allowing cars to communicate directly with each other.
According to ABC News: “NHTSA drivers showed
reporters how the system could detect an oncoming car around a blind corner. In
another scenario the system notified its driver of a car that had suddenly
stopped in their lane several vehicles ahead, beyond the motorist’s view. NHTSA said the proximity sensors in many of
today’s vehicles would likely have failed these tests without having direct
line-of-sight contact. NHTSA says
Connected Vehicle Technology should also allow commuters and local governments
to view traffic information in real time.”
The
project will cost about $15 million, with funding split between the federal
government and the state of Michigan.
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