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Future Vehicle Technology May Steer Drivers to Safety  Several members of the NTTA team recently took a trip to the future. They participated in a U.S. Department of Transportation demonstration of connected vehicle technology at the Texas Motor Speedway. The demonstration included a series of dangerous roadway situations to show how vehicles equipped with prototype safety features might interact to help prevent crashes.
The NTTA team experienced first-hand how wireless-based safety communication can be used to help warn of impending trouble as they rode along a course with trained drivers.
Signals sent from one vehicle to another in fractions of a second trigger in-car warnings if a vehicle ahead is stopped or traveling at an extremely slow speed, vehicles are in the projected path of another vehicle signaling a lane change, or a vehicle is about to cross the path of another vehicle approaching a crossing or intersection.
Warnings include: automatic muting of radio or cell phone, audible warning alerts, “heads-up” information displays projected onto the driver’s windshield, lights indicating trouble ahead or approaching from the side, in-dash lane-vehicle displays, blind-side warning lights displayed in side-view mirrors or door posts and seat vibration.
“These warnings dramatically improve the amount of time a driver has to react to a hazard when seconds really count,” said NTTA Director of System Incident Management Marty Legé, who participated in the demonstration.
Connected vehicle technology research is only in its infancy. The U.S. Department of Transportation envisions a day when vehicles not only will receive warnings, but also will react to them automatically and brake, stop or steer to avoid trouble.
And the future may also bring cars that “talk to” the road they are traveling -- essentially operate themselves -- rendering all drivers to passenger status.
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