Vehicle-to-Vehicle Technology Being Pushed by Regulators

Regulators are pushing the development of vehicle-to-vehicle communications systems technology to reduce accidents on the road.

In May 2013, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) tested short-range communication technologies in Ann Arbor, Mich. and concluded that it could prevent or decrease occurrence of car crashes involving non-impaired drivers, like driving-under-influence (DUI), by 80 percent. After which, the U.S. auto-safety regulator released a draft of policy that promotes development of innovative technologies that could be incorporated in autonomous vehicles.

"The vision of talking cars that avoid crashes is well on the way to becoming reality," said Intelligent Transport Society of America President Scott Belcher in a statement to Bloomberg Businessweek.

The Wash.-based ITS America, is the leading advocate for the development and use of Intelligent Transportation Systems in the U.S. It includes companies like American Automobile Association (AAA), Hewlett-Packard, Verizon, and Qualcomm Inc.

Before U.S. President Barack Obama leaves his office, the regulators proposed rules requiring the inclusion of the technology in new cars.

According to the Transportation Department, the communications system technology will be developed by the top technology companies in the world. It would allow cars to automatically exchange safety data like its position and speed, 10 times per second. It can also send warnings to drivers of a sensed forthcoming collision, but cannot perform automatic breaking and steering. It could possibly be safer than the use of seat belts and air bags.

"Vehicle-to-vehicle technology represents the next generation of auto safety improvements," said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said at a news conference Monday. "The potential of this technology is enormous."

Cisco, Systems, Inc is one of the companies yearning to build the architecture, while Google Inc. and Tesla are among the companies targeting to use the automated technology in the development of driverless cars.

"The full transition from our current vehicle fleet to a connected fleet will take at least 10 years, and like any new technology, the early stages of the transition will be fraught with glitches," said Kelly Blue Book senior analyst Karl Brauer in an email to Bloomberg News.