US to test road safety vehicle-to-vehicle communication

In a few weeks, around 2,800 cars, trucks and buses would be able to communicate to each other on the streets of Ann Arbor, Michigan, in an experiment aimed at enhancing road safety.

Wireless devices fitted on vehicles would signal each other, warning their drivers of potential dangers such as stopped traffic or cars speeding through red lights. The technology could even get traffic lights to turn green when there are no cars coming the other way.

Transportation secretary Ray LaHood said the information would be used to decide if vehicle technology could be applied to daily lives.

The US Department of Transportation and the University of Michigan are hoping the year-long, $25 million project generates data to show the use of devices would reduce the number of crashes. According to officials this could finally lead to the devices going in every car. Around 500 vehicles with the devices are now on the roads and the figure is expected to rise to 2,800 in about six weeks, according to officials.

More than 32,000 people died last year in US traffic crashes, down 1.7 per cent from 2010 and the number of crashes has fallen in recent years with automakers adding safety devices such as air bags, antilock brakes and stability control, which help drivers keep cars under control in emergency situations.

However according to LaHood around 80 per cent of crashes in which the drivers are not impaired by drugs or alcohol could be prevented or the severity reduced, if cars could talk to each other.