A Smarter Car

I always get annoyed when I go to the city and wait in line at a traffic light and I'm at the end of the line. By the time each driver responds to the vehicle moving in front of them  the light changes I havn't moved yet. If all the cars in the line up could move at once by command from the roadway or the vehicle in front traffic flow could be increased dramatically. If there is twenty cars in the lineup and there is a three second delay in response time for each driver, then a minute has gone by before the last vehicle moves. This seems like it would be a simple place to start easing congestion, and improving traffic flow.

While visiting FIAT to drive one of the new Alfas for the press a decade ago, I was told that the FIAT/Ferrari/Alfa engineers considered pollution control legislation the best think that ever happened to automobiles and their profession. Forcing them to understand the internal combustion engine allowed them to not only reduce emissions by 1000 times, but to make engines more powerful while burning less fuel.
What is needed to make individual transportation safer and more efficient is a similar incentive. Today’s cars already are full of technology: microprocessors operating on networks control the driveline, handling dynamics and passive safety systems. What else do we need?
I can name a few:
1. Simpler instrument panels and controls.
Sit in your car and look at all the gages, buttons and switches. What do you really need to know? Speed and fuel level but little else. The fact that the engine management system handles all the data means you can be warned if something is needing attention. Otherwise it’s ignorable. Climate control systems are an example of how to simplify systems – set the temperature and forget it. BTW, I drive a Mini Cooper S with a neat tach which I use in front of me with digital speedo. All I need. Other info is in the central dia. But why do trucks need tachometers and readouts of voltage, temperature and oil pressure? Did you know those minor instruments are faked on some cars – not real readouts. They are there for appearances only and will not read correctly unless something is amiss!
What we need is one multimedia panel in the steering wheel or just behind it. How cool if it stayed level while the wheel turned, easy to do.
2. Better entertainment systems
In CA, reports I have seen say changing CDs is at least as dangerous as talking on a cell. The iPod is the best invention for auto entertainment since the radio. Select the tracks from the wheel-mounted controls. But if you must have a readout, make it readable and right in front of the driver.
3. Integrated cell phones. If you must talk, do it without holding the phone in one hand. And no texting.
4. Discourage eating and smoking. How many accidents have been caused by people dropping hot coffee in their crotch? How many wildfires start here in CA by people tossing lighted cigarettes out the window. I vote for smoke detectors in cars and no cupholders, but realize the futility of that request.
5. Front collision systems. If you approach the car in front too fast, you car slows or stops to prevent or reduce the severity of collisions.
6. Managed speeds. Bear with me on this one. I’ve raced sports cars most of my life and instructed for high speed tack training. I love going fast, but only on a track. There is no justification for cars that can go as fast as they do. All cars should be programmed to limit speeds: 90 mph for 30 sec, 85 mph for 5 minutes, 80 mph continuous. Like stability control, you can turn it off  (for track events) but it resets and starts each time you start the car.
And while we’re at it, allow certain activities only to certain speeds. You want to drive 80, you can’t search for radio stations, dial cell numbers, etc.

The younger generation, just like EVERY younger generation in history, has improved and enhanced capabilities to digest more data in less time.

i-Pod anyone?

Or cell phones, PDAs, handheld game consoles, etc...It's called evolution. They should stop worrying about 'dumbing down' this IT/transportation integration stuff to the lowest common denominator, which in this case would be grandma, who still remembers outhouses and no air conditioning!

The kids coming up will be a lot more capable of adapting to whatever sensor array you provide for them than you suspect. Your problem will likely be, instead, providing them with ENOUGH data to compel them to want to pay for the extra instrumentation in the first place.

Might be worth to take a look to another EU funded project called REPOSIT (www.ist-reposit.org) that deals with vehicle to vehicle communication, relative GPS positioning and Collision Avoidance Systems.