The Department of Transportation has announced that regulations are on their way that will require manufacturers of light vehicles to add vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications systems in all new cars and trucks. Though plans to require heavy truck manufacturers to require similar V2V systems have not officially been announced, the DOT says that plans for such regulations are likely to be announced later this year.
On February 3rd, The DOT’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that they will begin taking steps to require V2V technology that would allow vehicles to exchange information with each other like speed and road position in order to avoid crashes, especially rear-end, lane change, and intersection crashes.
According to the NHTSA website dedicated to V2V information, there are a multitude of improvements that mandatory V2V technology could have on our roadways. The NHTSA claims that it would provide up-to-date traffic information that would reduce congestion on the roadways; let drivers know when they are entering a school zone, a construction area, or if there is a red light ahead; and “through in-vehicle warnings, drivers would be alerted to imminent crash situations, such as merging trucks, cars in the driver’s blind side, or when a vehicle ahead of them brakes suddenly.”
The NHTSA also announced that it would be publishing a report on the subject of V2V communication based on the findings of its pilot program in Ann Arbor, Michigan when 3,000 V2V vehicles were deployed on the road for a year to gather data.
When Overdrive presented the NHTSA with the question of whether similar V2V regulations could be expected for the commercial trucking industry, the NHTSA responded that all data collected for the light vehicle V2V tests “will be a very important factor in the 2013 heavy vehicle decision later this year.” They also added that “many aspects of V2V technology used by light vehicles will apply but there are also additional issues we must consider.
It is unknown what impact adding V2V systems to light vehicles may have, but one possibility is that it will make drivers of 4-wheelers more dependent on machine guidance and therefore less aware of their surroundings – especially of non-V2V equipped heavy vehicles.
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I’d like to see DOT mandate a system that will prevent drivers of cars from driving in truck blind spots, passing on the right, and merging or changing lanes too close in front of trucks.
I shudder to think of how this will work, but for most ‘warnings’ there will be some kind of beep?
A display on the dash in flashing letters, “Danger!”
Now I don’t consider this bad. I welcome a second set of eyes, especially when my attention is not fully driving the truck, however, follow this to the resultant scenario.
While driving thru any congested area, this warning system would be going off constantly as other drivers cut in and out, tailgate you or as you pass thru a construction zone, a school zone a sign displaying an Amber alert…
How long before we learn to completely ignore these wanton displays, silence that friggin alarm and resume life.
After all, remember when they put that extra center brakelight on cars to ‘reduce rear end accidents’? Who notices those anymore?
But we can all be assured that a non operating system will be a CSA violation, will work as efficiently as the DEF systems that keep breaking down, so we’ll spend more time in shops waiting for a repair.
I’m so thrilled!
They already have them on the New Volvo’s. Our freightliners have the same kind of system but better. It tells you approximately how close you are from the vehicle in front of you and is pretty spot on as for how fast it is traveling. Great for using in the dense fog.
I think it is time to stop putting all the safety crap in all the vehicles. All it does is make the driver more lazy than what they already are. And God only knows what will happen to the vehicle when there is a malfunction in the safety crap. It would make a whole lot more sence to start holding the drivers responsible for their actions and start enforcing the laws that are already on the books. Lets look at the GPS units for example. The drivers have gotten so lazy by relying on them that they don’t even have the ambition to look up at a sign that tells how low a bridge is. Let’s do away with all the gadgets. Start teaching all drivers, 2 wheelers to 18 wheelers, how to drive and how to do it safely. I’ve trucked for 30 years. Nothing but Rand McNaley and it NEVER got me lost. How many drivers you know got lost with GPS. I know quite a few. I trucked those years without and automatic transmission and saved fuel. I never had an accident. It can be done.
Amen,i am 35yrs old & only been trailor truckin for 13yrs,10 yrs for 2 diff owner op & use rand mcnally,call an have communication with shippers/receivers & the lil gps on my phone only i compare miles just for gen principle so yes can b done
Yea. Get rid of the safety crap. Get rid of seatbelts. Shatterproof windows. Crush zones. ABS. It all just adds weight and trouble. you know how much time I spend each day putting on and taking off my seatbelt! It’s ridiculous! And what’s the airbag in my steering wheel for? I’ve never used it. And it makes it so I can’t find a comfortable position for my hands on the steering wheel.
And yea, let’s get rid of GPS while we’re at it. That Rand McNally. It was magic. I never got lost either (except for once in a while when I got off the freeway and onto surface streets. But no big deal). All these gadgets to make life easier and safer, what’s the point? Like jake brakes. Just go slow down that hill. Learn how to downshift!
We should go back to the old days of haggard road dogs, 3 logbooks, bennies and cb’s. Yea. Those were the days. But come to think, let’s just do away with engines. Go back to mules. And who needs wheels anyway. Let’s go back to having the womenfolk tote everything on their heads and backs. Those were the days!!!
u know, i agree with you on that, instead of doing all these crazy things for cars, and humans will get lazyer, why dont they just make the driver license test (road test) a bit harder? maybe put in more responsibilities while learning how to drive, and make it harder and with common sense to take a drivers road test.. the shit that i learned to pass a road test was nothing… gas, brake, mirrors.. thats all…… i learned so much after maybe 2 years what it takes to be a safe driver… these dmv dont teach you the neccesary things u should be aware of…its terrible… and then they wonder why people crash, and die…. but what r ru gonna do.. money is the key in this world these days… not common sense… its sad.. very very sad
Does any body realize the attack on the individual that is underway?
This is an attempt of the government to circumvent the constitution and collect data
on citizens with out warrant. Do not fool yourself this not for road safety but information.
Illegal unconstitutional data. I will not stand for this will you? Call your state represenantives
and let them know about this, if we don’t start standing up and stopping the encroachment of
Tyranny it won’t be long until we are living under a dictator. It is our responsibility to stop this not
Politicians , not one party or the other but our solemn duty to be the keepers
Of our own freedom.
Let’s not overreact. There’s no indication the government is going to keep the information. It’s not a data collection scheme, it’s a temporary data exchange. My car is at Point A going X mph, you car is at Point B in front of me going Y mph. Our two cars exchange that information. But they don’t keep it any longer than needed in order to avoid each of them being at point C at the same time.
In other words it’s not about where YOU are. It’s about where your car is in relation to other nearby cars. Check it out…http://www.its.dot.gov/research/v2v.htm
If it works, and it absolutely can, this could be a HUGE safety benefit for all of us, truckers especially. Because who spends more time on the road than anyone else? We truckers do.
and just more ways for government to track you!
V2V smells and sounds a lot like a stepping stone on the path to completely automated transportation.
yes it is…..i had this idea many years ago… same exact one… next one is gonna be a camera eye that will read the line on the road to keep the car going in its lane…it might be some special paint, like glow in the dark paint, that lights up a little bit for us drivers to see better at pitch black roads(manual driving) …or sensors on guard rails, bridges, even on the roads. lamps… or once again, the paint …. the paint will have power running through it… and the car will follow…( auto driving) so be prepared for a major road line color remodeling…
Absolutely already being used in Australia.
I’m still very curious about how this is all going to end up when it gets into the courts. These automatic braking systems currently getting installed in new cars. What happens when they cause a crash? If the driver is not able to turn these systems off, how is the liability for their performance going to legally and finaincially fall. This is different from things like air bags because they actually take actions that will control the car. Even ABS systems only work if the driver allpies the brake.
I just don’t know, they sound good in theory. But, they will not be perfect and when they cause harm and accidents, how is that going to play out?
Its all bs,sounds like we should just sit at the house with a real big screen with a joystick an button an operate our truck for pickup & delivery it sounds like
Its time to walk away with your dignity. How far is the government and the companies going to push us. I don’t believe in unions, but something has to give, next they will introduce autopilot on trucks so dumb truck drivers won’t be driving them anymore and we can all join the poverty line.
I’d like to see this warning system, after the George Washington Bridge tolls, merging onto the bridge at 6 o’clock in the morning. Who are they kidding? At this rate with computers taking over automobiles in the near future, we may be losing our jobs. Time to think about a National Union for trucking.
Watch more wrecks when those damn things gives off false readings.
Look at some of the ON Guard systems that are already on trucks, braking at ghosties such as the white line on a road, bridge abutments, guardrailings, merging traffic, nothing at all.
Many GPS units already have the school warning, curve warning, speed warning, built in.
It would be ok if it would announce what I called a slider on the right or left when someone is in your blind spot, or perhaps if traffic is slowing down, or construction zone, or a wreck. Otherwise how much more confusion does a trucker need to worry about listening to in one cab.
Maybe some weather reports too.