Someday, we might not have to put so much emphasis on airbags, anti-whiplash seats, and roof crush. In an ideal world, we could simply avoid accidents altogether, right? Or better yet, our cars would.
It's not as far into the future as it sounds, according to GM. Looking ahead, Cadillac Global Active Safety director John Capp says that in-vehicle Doppler radar would spot obstacles or traffic jams ahead, while further into the future that information could be used in autonomous vehicles that would share information with each other, as well as traffic signals, and potentially drive themselves.
Recently we also reported that Ford, among other automakers, is progressing on a project to develop vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) systems that would enable vehicles to warn each other of potential road hazards; vehicles would also share information on congestion and traffic, so as to find better routes. The EU, through its Intelligent Car Initiative, is building a centralized system that would collect and send helpful details, while other automakers are working on systems combining centralized and local V2V data.
GM points out the strong combination of accident avoidance technologies currently offered in the 2010 Cadillac DTS Platinum, including lane departure warning, blind spot alert, and adaptive cruise control, as steps toward that crash-proof car of the future.
