BusinessWeek reports that Nissan is testing an intelligent transportation system (ITS) in Japan that allows vehicles to communicate with each other. The first trial of the system will test the following features:
Vehicle alert This system alerts drivers to the presence of vehicles moving too fast at blind intersections. For example, if the system determines that a car is approaching a driver too fast from the left, a buzzer will sound and a voice recording will call out: "Car approaching from left." At the same time, an image of an approaching vehicle will appear on the driver's CARWINGS navigation screen.
The system will also alert a driver when is detects that he or she approaching a stop sign or red traffic light too fast.
Speed alert This system warns drivers when they are speeding in a school zone. As soon as a driver passes the speed limit in the area, a buzzer will sound and a voice recording will warn: "School ahead. Watch your speed." An image of a school zone sign will also appear on the driver's navigation screen.
Dynamic route finder
This system informs drivers of the quickest route to their destination using probe data collected from mobile phones of CARWINGS subscribers, including taxi owners, as well as vehicle data collected by mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo.
Nissan eventually wants to introduce the system in other countries. BusinessWeek says Nissan's goal is to half the traffic fatalities or serious injuries involving Nissan vehicles by 2015. The Pleasant Morning Buzz asks, "So, will the new system prevent accidents, or just cause more of them as drivers freak out when their car yells at them?" The system's warning messages will also require that a driver be able to hear them. They can't be drowned out by a loud radio or missed by a cell phone user. It sounds like it is worth testing -- we would all love something that would reduce the enormous number of accidents that occur each year.
