The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into the efficacy of technology that would enable vehicles to communicate with both each other and stationary edifices in order to help prevent accidents on the road.
They currently have 3,000 cars undergoing rigorous testing in the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan. This program is designed to test how reliable such vehicle to vehicle communication is. Known as V2V, the technology utilizes short-range transmitters to send data about speed and other information between vehicles. This information disperses at a rate of 10 times per second, ensuring that other automobiles are receiving data that is constantly up to date.
The other end of the spectrum is vehicle to infrastructure communication, known as V2I. Interacting with a GPS, work zones, accident sites, and even traffic signals, such technology could theoretically get you around upcoming traffic snarls and assist you with hitting nothing but green lights.
The testing still has awhile to go though. The Ann Arbor program is scheduled to continue until summer 2013. Once that testing has been concluded, officials can begin to discuss the ramifications of the technology and how to implement it on American roads.
As a San Bernardino car accident lawyer, I’m incredibly excited about this futuristic technology. Anything that can prevent automobile fatalities is fine by me. Although we might be a ways off from this advancement becoming widespread, I hope that the kinks can be worked out.