WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 (PNA/Xinhua) — The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) said Monday it will begin taking steps to enable vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) wireless communication technology for light vehicles.
This technology would “improve safety by allowing vehicles to ‘talk’ to each other and ultimately avoid many crashes altogether by exchanging basic safety data, such as speed and position, ten times per second,” the DOT said.
“Vehicle-to-vehicle technology represents the next generation of auto safety improvements, building on the life-saving achievements we’ve already seen with safety belts and air bags,” U. S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement.
“By helping drivers avoid crashes, this technology will play a key role in improving the way people get where they need to go while ensuring that the U.S. remains the leader in the global automotive industry.”
The DOT said its research indicates that safety applications using V2V technology can “address a large majority of crashes involving two or more motor vehicles.”
With safety data such as speed and location flowing from nearby vehicles, vehicles can identify risks and provide drivers with warnings to avoid other vehicles in common crash types such as rear-end, lane change, and intersection crashes, it said.
The safety applications currently being developed provide warnings to drivers so that they can prevent imminent collisions, but do not automatically operate any vehicle systems, such as braking or steering.
The V2V technology does not involve exchanging or recording personal information or tracking vehicle movements, the agency said. The information sent between vehicles does not identify those vehicles, but merely contains basic safety data.
The DOT said its National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is expected to publish a research report on V2V communication technology for public comment in the coming weeks and then “begin working on a regulatory proposal” that would require V2V devices in new vehicles.(PNA/Xinhua)