The Department of Transportation of the United States has proposed a rule that will require automobile manufacturers to equip new cars with vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology.
Regulators believe that such technology, often referred to simply as V2V, will help prevent road accidents and save lives.
The V2V Communication Tech Proposal
"We are carrying the ball as far as we can to realize the potential of transportation technology to save lives," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in a statement released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Foxx added that the long-promised V2V requirement is the next step in the department's efforts, promising that the technology will be able to gather complete situational awareness while on the road.
In 2015, traffic fatalities reached 35,000, with more than 90 percent related to human error. In fact, the United States has the highest death rate for car crashes among all countries in the world.
Officials are hoping that the implementation of V2V communication technology will help in reducing the number of road accidents that occur each year.
NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind echoed these sentiments, adding that advanced technologies for vehicles such as V2V communication could be a "silver bullet" that will save lives. He added that the combination of automated vehicle technologies and V2V communication have massive potential to make roads safer.
How Does V2V Tech Work?
Cars and trucks equipped with V2V systems would utilize specific bandwidths for communication, specifically to broadcast safety messages to other vehicles that are within a 300-meter range. According to the Department of Transportation, this range is greater than the distance that cameras, sensors, and radar equipped in vehicles could achieve.
The technology would allow vehicles to tell others about a variety of things, such as if a car is coming out of a blind alley, if a vehicle is stopped on the road, or if it is unsafe to pass certain roads.
The proposal for V2V communications would also require a common language that will be shared among all models across all automobile manufacturers, to make sure that the vehicles will understand one another.
V2V Tech Proposal In The Works
The Department of Transportation accelerated its work to enable V2V communication in February 2014, with the department directing the NHTSA to begin working on the rulemaking for the technology.
A few months after in August 2014, the NHTSA announced that it will be moving to require the technology in new vehicles, while releasing a report that outlines the safety benefits of V2V communication.
Over two years later, the Department of Transportation has issued a formal proposal regarding the technology, and if the rule will be finalized, automobile manufacturers will need to comply by having half of their vehicles come with the technology within two years and all of their vehicles within four years.
A few issues still remain with the proposed widespread usage of V2V communication technology though, including cybersecurity concerns and cost. It is estimated that V2V equipment will be an added cost of $350 for each vehicle in 2020.
