Could ‘talking cars’ save lives? Auto companies are developing safety systems using advanced Wi-Fi signals and GPS systems that could allow vehicles to communicate with each other on the road. The cars could then send messages to warn their drivers about potential crashes. Ford Motor Co. is demonstrating the technology at the Washington Auto Show in the nation's capital. The technology sends out multiple messages per second about the vehicle's location, speed, brakes and steering. If a vehicle detects a potential hazard, it can warn the driver. The technology aims to prevent collisions involving a car changing lanes, approaching a stalled vehicle, or heading into an intersection in which another car ignores a red light or a stop sign. The systems, which warn drivers through beeping sounds and flashing red lights at the base of the dashboard, are still five to 10 years from being deployed into the nation's fleet. But Ford officials said the technology, if installed on enough vehicles, could reduce the more than 30,000 people who are killed each year on the nation's highways. Some crash avoidance systems have used radar systems positioned in the front or back of the vehicle. Ford said the GPS/Wi-Fi systems are less costly and can detect movements surrounding the vehicles, including conditions along winding roads where a driver's vision might be obstructed or in side crashes involving a car that barrels through a red light. The broad availability of GPS and Wi-Fi, meanwhile, could help car companies eventually install the technology on vehicles already in the fleet.
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