Feds Allow ‘Next Generation’ Vehicle Safety Technology

The DOT and NHTSA have announced that they will begin to allow vehicles to install V2V technology. After additional study by the NHTSA, the federal government could “eventually require the system to be included in all new vehicles,” reports Bridget Bowman.

The V2V technology is not an automated driving system, according to Bowman’s report. Rather, the new technology communicates with other cars in the area and provides warnings to the driver. (Another report by Mark Mooney from earlier this year provides more details on how V2V technology works.) A statement by Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx on the new technology indicates, however, that government hopes the new technology has a dramatic effect for road safety: “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,…By helping drivers avoid crashes, this technology will play a key role in improving the way people get where they need to go…”

Also, “the communication technology does not involve any exchange of personal information nor does it identify or track specific vehicles. V2V would only transmit ‘basic safety data.’”