Ford Motors Unveils Accident Prevention Technology

The technology would help prevent some 80 percent of all light-vehicle crashes, according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration report. Ford demonstrated its research project in the parking lot at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium. The cars monitor a 300 meter circle and communicate with other cars using wi-fi and GPS and warn drivers of potential accidents.

Ford and several other car companies have invested in both research and policy to present to the the U.S. Department of Transportation, said Mary Wroten, Ford’s accident avoidance expert.

“With this type of technology you’ll be able to get a type of warning and see things you that you could not traditionally see and sense the vehicle is coming in the opposite direction and tell you to take some type of action and avoid the eminent threat,” said Wroten.

The technology would assist in hazardous situations including intersections, lane-passing or sudden breaking. All cars would need to have compatible equipment to communicate, said Wroten.

The U.S. Department of Transportation will decide in 2013 whether it wants to adopt the technology in all vehicles. It could be a regulation by 2020, she said.

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