US trial into talking cars to be launched

Date: 23/8/2012

A large experiment into the future of how cars communicate with each other is to be launched in Michigan in the United States next month.

More than 2,800 vehicles including cars, trucks and buses will be used in the pilot scheme which the federal government is hoping will lead to better road safety, reports the Associated Press.

How these talking cars work is that they are fitted with a wireless device which sends out signals to other vehicles.

These signals are designed to act as warnings in instances such as traffic which has come to a standstill and cars going through a red light.

An added benefit of the signals being emitted is that if there are no other vehicles coming in the opposite direction then lights will go green so that the occupant of the car can drive on.

The project is to cost $25 million (£15.7 million) and is being funded jointly by the US Department of Transportation and the University of Michigan.

At the end of the year-long trial it is hoped that the results will show that such devices can cut down on the number of road traffic accidents.

In the end, every car could be fitted with the devices, which are currently in 500 hundred vehicles, but are being phased in until the entire 2,800 are fitted with them.

Ray LaHood, Transport Secretary, said: “This is a big day for safety. We’ll use this information to decide if vehicle technology can be applied to daily lives.”

Traffic crashes in the United States were down 1.7 per cent in 2011 compared with 2010, which has been in part accredited to car manufacturers fitting more safety features.

Mr LaHood said that in 80 per cent of crashes where drugs and alcohol aren’t a factor, cars being able to communicate would help to reduce the severity.

Once the data has been collected from this trial it will be reviewed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which will then decide how to proceed.

Posted by Sarah Bailey

Transport Research News and Vehicle Safety News