Smarter cars mean safer roads - AmericaNowNews.com

Could smarter cars make safer roads?

Wouldn't it be great if every car on the road could talk to each other, helping to avoid driver mistakes? Well, the technology already exists.

There's a bank of LED red lights at the base of the windshield that reflect up into the glass. An alarm also goes off that will get your attention.

It's projected that by the end of the decade, all new vehicles will have this technology, which can prevent 81 percent of all police-reported crashes involving unimpaired drivers.

Say someone is running a red light or stop sign. You get a warning so you can stop.

Or how about a wet parking lot full of black-ice? The vehicle-to-vehicle technology would warn you about that. Same thing if it were to happen on a bridge. 

"What we're now talking about is wireless technology that looks in all different directions along with GPS," explains Andy Sarkasian of the Ford Motor Company.

You get a warning if a car is in your blind spot and you start to move over. These smarter cars use WiFi and GPS to track both vehicles.

What about hacking or anti-hacking technology? Could somebody in China or Russia hit a button and we have 10,000 accidents all at once?  

That's exactly what the engineers are working on...to make sure it's safe and secure from hacking as well as maintaining privacy. 

Ford is the first automaker to build a functional prototype. Smarter cars mean safer roads... bring em' on!

The new vehicle to vehicle technology also gives you real-time traffic data, helping to save time and fuel. It's estimated to save more than four billion gallons of gas a year nationwide.  

Copyright 2012 America Now. All rights reserved.

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