'Talking' cars inevitable, says Honda

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Aug. 22 (UPI) -- It is "inevitable" that U.S. automobile manufacturers will use technology that will allow vehicle-to-vehicle communications, an auto executive said.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was in Ann Arbor, Mich., this week to launch a yearlong pilot project that will test vehicle-to-vehicle wireless communications.

The technology works with Global Positioning Systems to ease traffic congestion and prevent accidents that may be caused by conditions beyond a driver's line of sight.

"Vehicle-to-vehicle communication has the potential to be the ultimate game-changer in roadway safety but we need to understand how to apply the technology in an effective way in the real world," National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Administrator Director David Strickland said in a statement.

The University of Michigan will oversee road tests for 3,000 vehicles equipped with the wireless technology in the study.

The NHTSA said the technology could prevent 80 percent of accidents associated with rear-end collisions, blind intersections and from vehicles that may stop quickly but are beyond a driver's direct line of sight.

LaHood said road tests are necessary to determine whether the program is worthwhile. Participants include manufactures ranging from Ford Motor Co. to Honda.

"We do think this (technology) is inevitable," Bill Konstantacos, who is in charge of research for Honda in America, told Bloomberg News.