U.S. Government Aims for 'Talking' Cars by 2017, Report Says

By Adario Strange, Feb 04, 2014

Image: Dept. of Transportation

The age of mainstream self-driving cars may still be far off, but if the U.S. government has its way our cars will begin “talking” to one another within the next few years.

In a message posted on the official Department of Transportation (DOT) website on Monday, David Friedman, the acting administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), outlined a plan to put vehicle-to-vehicle communications in place as an official automobile safety measure in the coming years.

"Decades from now, it's likely we'll look back at this time period as one in which the historical arc of transportation safety considerably changed for the better, similar to the introduction of standards for seat belts, airbags, and electronic stability control technology," said Friedman, in a statement on the DOT website.

This announcement comes after a year of testing conducted by the agency involving 3,000 cars in Ann Arbor, Mich. The pilot program was designed to determine the viability of widespread vehicle-to-vehicle communications as a means to improve safety on the road.

Some of the safety enhancements the vehicle-to-vehicle system could bring, based on some of the scenarios outlined by the agency, include collision avoidance, speed limit alerts and automatic work zone warnings.

According to an NHTSA statement, after the test results have been released in the coming weeks, the agency will then draw up a proposal aimed at making vehicle-to-vehicle communications a part of official U.S. road safety policy. Although no hard date was mentioned in the NHTSA announcement, Reuters reports that a DOT official said vehicle-to-vehicle communications could be mandated as official policy as soon as 2017.

"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," said U.S. Transportation Secretary, Anthony Foxx.

"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."