Self-driving cars get all the attention, but another, much simpler technology called car-to-car communications might save just as many lives. And the tech is now getting its first commercial test on the roads of Sunnyvale, California.
Car-to-car technology involves cars broadcasting their speed, bearing, and other data over a few hundred meters. This can alert onboard computers and safety systems to impending accidents, even in situations where the sensors on self-driving cars would be blind, such as rear-endings caused by sudden braking, or T-bone collisions. A related system, called car-to-infrastructure communications, could help smooth the flow of traffic and reduce congestion by having vehicles work in collaboration with modified traffic lights and specialized roadside beacons.
The U.S. Department of Transportation is interested in car-to-car technology, and it organized a large-scale test in the city of Ann Arbor, Michigan, that involved 2,800 cars equipped with radio equipment and data recorders, between 2012 and 2013.
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